Ban Australia’s Fur Trade

The animal-welfare group Human Society International called for a ban on the fur trade in Australia last week. The call to end the country’s fur trade came after investigators discovered that some Ugg-style boot knockoffs contained the pelts of raccoon dogs in China, despite being labeled as Australian sheep skin. In 2009, Swiss Animal Protection filmed a video of a Chinese fur farm depicting extremely cruel acts of animals thrown on the ground, skinned alive, and left in heaps to die. In 2004, Australia banned the importation of domestic dog and cat fur.