By Filipe Rufino - 12th April 2007
The European parliament has called for an EU-wide ban on products containing cat and dog fur.
MEPs also rejected a commission proposal allowing an exception for private import.
Thursday's vote, which is legally binding, follows a one-million-signatures petition from citizens across the EU.
“We do not accept, we simply do not tolerate the continuation of this trade” said the parliament's rapporteur Eva-Britt Svensson.
“We cannot accept any kind of exception…if you start making exceptions you start moving further and further away from the total ban”, the Swedish MEP said.
Cat and dog fur is a gruesome trade claiming the lives of over two million animals a year, mostly bred in Asia and often skinned alive, according to animal rights groups.
The fur is then used in toys, shoes and clothing and is often labelled as synthetic.
EU ambassadors are set to discuss the proposed ban when they meet on Wednesday, a German presidency official told this website.
EU Governments are divided on the issue, with some calling for total ban and others arguing for a limited number of exceptions, the official said.
The US, Australia, Switzerland and New Zealand already have similar bans in place.
Thursday’s move is also intended to signal a tougher stance from the European Parliament on the fur trade in general, said Svensson.
“We want to see the ban on cat and dog fur as a first step towards additional measures against the trading in other skins and furs, for example for seal skins".
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