Just when we thought we couldn't sink any lower as a country:
"The federal government won't ban imports of cat and dog fur because doing so might undermine Canada's support for the seal hunt, says a newly released document.
An internal memo shows government officials urged Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz not to follow the United States and Europe in barring cat and dog fur from entering the country.
Officials worried a ban would weaken Canada's argument against other countries closing their borders to its seal products.
"A ban could have implications for the farmed fur industry in Canada and for Canada's position against the banning of Canadian seal products by other countries," the memo says.
The Canadian Press obtained the March 26 document under the Access to Information Act.
The U.S. and the European Union have banned imports of dog and cat fur. But those places aren't home to the world's largest seal hunt."
http://www.google.com/hostednews/canadianpress/article/ALeqM5g0VcHBaKTW2...
This isn't merely an academic exercise as many cat and dog fur products are very likely in Canada already:
"The international trade in cat and dog fur is gaining momentum and the level of cruelty which this industry tolerates is horrendous. Two million dogs and cats are killed in Asia every year to supply the fur trade.
As the slaughter of dogs and cats is viewed as reprehensible in the west, the Asian fur industry attempts to conceal the truth by intentionally mislabeling fur exports. With few exceptions, products from dogs and cats are never labeled as such. Dog fur is sold as “Asian wolf “fur, while cat fur is often labeled as “rabbit” fur. In fact, producers of fur in China revealed to investigators that they were willing to sew any label onto garments made from dogs or cats to facilitate commercial viability. To make matters worse, Canadian laws do not require garment labels to include the origin of the fur, nor which species of animal it comes from.
According to industry Canada, the Canadian fur and retail industry imported $5 million in animal pelts and $28 million in fur trimmed apparel from China in 2004. Despite the distinct possibility that many of these imported furs are from dogs and cats, the government has indicated that it has no intention of prohibiting these imports."
Here's the link but warning of a really gross picture:
http://www.gan.ca/campaigns/fur+trade/cat+and+dog+fur.en.html
I couldn't think of a clearer example of where our support for the seal "hunt" / massacre and worship at the alter of capitalism is turning us into 21st century barbarians.
In the past when we banned whaling we created an entire new eco-tourism industry. Its time we move forward again before eating hot dogs will take on a whole new meaning.
