Could You Kill A Rabbit For 4 Pence?
The Chinese ‘house of horrors’ where 10,000 rabbits are skinned EVERY DAY (and factory workers are paid just 4p for every animal they kill)
Chinese workers are killing and skinning 10,000 rabbits a day at a slaughterhouse which investigators have dubbed a ‘house of horrors’, it has emerged.
Shocking video footage from the factory shows thousands of animals crammed into cages so small they can not stand up.
The creatures are then yanked out by their ears and struck over the head with the side of a blade, a technique intended to knock them out before they are killed.
Evidence of the atrocious conditions was uncovered during an undercover investigation by Humane Society International (HSI).
HSI chief executive Claire Bass said: ‘The facility we found in China is a house of horror for thousands of rabbits.
‘As their fur is being sold to the UK and other countries, it’s entirely possible that these terrified rabbits have ended up as fur bobble hats and scarves on sale in UK shops.
‘These scenes of horrific suffering are, appallingly, a daily reality for millions of animals caught up in the fur industry.
‘Anyone knowingly buying real fur trim on garments like hats, gloves and coats needs to know that their money is directly subsidising this cruelty.
‘If every person choosing real fur had to watch our video before clicking “buy” online or paying at the cash desk, I think most would be appalled and choose a cruelty-free item instead.’
China’s fur industry is based on ‘intensive fur farming’ in filthy factories like the one visited by HSI, its spokesman told MailOnline.
In a separate part of its investigation, the organisation discovered that some of Britain’s biggest retailers are being tricked into selling fur products that were marketed as fake.
Clothes sold on websites of TK Maxx and House of Fraser, were advertised as ‘faux fur’ - but lab tests found some made from real animals, Humane Society International (HSI) found.
There is no suggesting either TK Maxx or House of Fraser knowingly marketed real fur as fake.
Both companies said they were duped into buying the products and House of Fraser has since severed all contractual ties with those suppliers.
Investigators also identified 60 real fur products being sold in markets and smaller, independent stores which either had no label or was wrongly labelled polyester and nylon.
It often costs less to produce real fur items than synthetic ones in China because workers at slaughterhouses are underpaid, there is no health and safety, vets do not visit the animals and they transport the animals cheaply, HSI said.
Last year, the UK imported £3.5million worth of fur skins and other items from China and £3.4million from Hong Kong, according to HM Revenue and Customs.
Fur farming was outlawed in the UK in 2000. Since then, all fur sold in the country has been imported.
Customers are often attracted to fake fur products because they believe real fur to be unnecessarily cruel.
TK Maxx advertised on its website a pair of £9.99 Pia Rossini gloves as ‘grey faux fur cuff gloves’
However, the label said the gloves are made from ‘100 per cent polyester and angora’.
TK Maxx, who still sell one pair of Pia Rossini gloves on its website, said they had supplied the gloves in error, despite the retailer’s strict no fur policy since 2003.
Adding the retailer, ‘never knowingly buys real fur products’, a spokesman said: ‘TK Maxx regrets that its internal teams didn’t catch this error and ensure that these products weren’t sold.’
The company said is reviewing its purchasing system to prevent a repeat of the situation.