EXCLUSIVE
By Adam Docherty 11th October 2002, Sunday Post

THE truth about this life-like cuddly toy will shock animal lovers the length and breadth of the country.

It was bought in Scotland and appears to be a cute kitten, curled up asleep safe and sound in its wicker bed.
But this “kitten” is made from the fur of REAL dogs — farmed in horrendous circumstances in China and slaughtered for their pelts.
Some are skinned before they are completely dead.
The horrific discovery was made by Scots MEP Struan Stevenson (pictured left), who bought this particular toy from a souvenir shop in Shetland. It was labelled “Made in China”. Small print on the reverse of the label described it as an “animal by-product”.
We found similar items in a number of shops in Glasgow.
Souvenir shops
Mr Stevenson says this and similar toys are in gift and souvenir shops around Britain and Europe. Ironically, they’re a firm favourite with pet lovers unaware of their true origins.

 Pelts are often mislabelled, says Mr Stevenson, so retailers will innocently stock them and customers have no idea what they’re really made of.
Identical toys, bought in Holland, were tested for DNA by the Academic Medical Centre of Amsterdam.
Results proved conclusively that they were made of dog hair.
Mr Stevenson has been tirelessly campaigning for years to put an end to the European market for the remains of dogs and cats farmed in China.
The USA has already banned the trade, following an 18-month undercover investigation conducted by the Humane Society International in Communist China.

They documented the brutal lives and cruel deaths of more than two million dogs and cats in Asia each year — killed solely for their skins.

Since then, Asian exporters have turned to Europe as a market for their products.
As well as fur products, dog skins are also used as shoe leather or in some dog chew toys — which means domestic pets may be eating the skins of other dogs. 
Richard Swain, the Humane Society’s undercover investigator and a former Maryland police captain, said, “Make no mistake about it, this fur is being sold throughout Europe. In China I have seen warehouses the size of football fields piled to the ceiling with dog and cat fur waiting to be exported to the West.”
Massive scale
Struan Stevenson continued, “This is the evidence I have been waiting for. It confirms without a doubt that the appalling trade in cat and dog fur has penetrated the European market on a massive scale.
“Since the USA banned all cat and dog products, Europe has become the new dumping ground. Italy has banned cat and dog imports and it is about time other EU member states followed suit.
“I will be writing to Commissioner David Byrne demanding he apply an EU-wide ban on these products. I will be sending him the latest scientific evidence as well as a copy of The Sunday Post to convince him to act now.”