Canada: Stop Supporting the Slaughter of Cats & Dogs!
171,639 signatures toward our 200,000 Goal
Sponsor: The Animal Rescue Site
Tell the Canadian government to stop importing products containing cat and dog fur.
In some parts of the world, cats and dogs are raised and brutally skinned for their beautiful fur. The pelts are then being imported to Canada and sold next to seal skin goods1 without any indication of where the fur is from.
The Canadian government, under pressure from the fur industry, has held off efforts to ban the import of products made with dog and cat fur. Even though dog and cat fur is often deceptively labeled seal fur, a ban on those products would likely be followed by a ban on seal fur as many Canadians oppose the slaughter of animals for the fur industry. The seal fur industry, in this way, benefits by the presence of cat and dog fur posing as seal fur2.
Repelled by the extreme cruelty involved, the UK actually initiated the European Union ban on the import of commercial seal products. The import of domestic dog and cat fur is banned in the UK, EU and the United States for the same reasons3.
The World Trade Organization allows trade exclusions to promote animal welfare4. That means that Canada can easily and without repercussion ban the importation of dog and cat fur. Instead, with no ban and no legislation requiring the content of fur garments to be disclosed on the label, they prefer to allow Canadian consumers to unknowingly purchase imported products made from the skins of cats and dogs.
Canadian opinion and opinion worldwide are in agreement that the trade in dog and cat fur is unconscionable5. The Canadian Government must be sent a strong message. Tell them to stop allowing imported cat and dog fur into Canada in an inane defense of an unprofitable and dying sealing industry. Tell them to ban the sale of these horrifying products.
Nobody wants fashion at the price of pets' lives. Tell Canada's Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister to ban imported dog and cat furs. Sign and share with a friend today!
- Stephanie Kinsella, CBC (14 December 2016), "'The industry is on the way out,' says anti-sealing group after protest at St. John's store."
- Steve Rennie, The Canadian Press, (23 September 2009), "Ottawa won't ban fur imports because of seal ban: Memo."
- Respect for Animals (2021), "Seals, dogs and cats need our help in post-Brexit trade talks."
- World Trade Organization (2021), "WTO rules and environmental policies: GATT exceptions."
- Humane Society International (19 May 2021), "First Nations, animal protection groups, epidemiologists call on BC Government to Act with urgency."
The Petition:
To the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister of Canada,
The lax trade standards that allow cat and dog fur products into Canada are not only shameful, they promulgate inhumane suffering around the world.
I implore you to listen to both Canadian and worldwide opinion and ban the importation and sale of products containing dog and cat fur, similar to the actions already taken by the European Union and the United States.
Selling garments made from the skins of dogs and cats goes against the wishes of almost all Canadian citizens, yet in an internal memo your government opposed the ban because it weakens Canadian efforts to promote the sale of seal skins to other countries. Because Canadian law does not require the content of fur garments to be disclosed on the label, Canadian consumers have no way of knowing when they are purchasing products made from the skins of cats and dogs.
Allowing Canadian consumers to unknowingly purchase imported products made from cat and dog fur in defense of the sealing industry is unconscionable and horrifying.
Please immediately reverse Canadian government policy and ban the importation and sale of all garments made with dog and cat fur.
Sincerely,
Updates:
170,089 signatures from this petition were sent to the Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister of Canada in February 2022.
