Consumer Info: Investigation—What is that they're wearing?

3. The dogs slaughtered in China...

AT ONE RESTAURANT the dog was taken out of the sack. He was wagging his tail... videotape shows a German shepherd dog blinking his eye as he was being skinned by the Harbin butcher. —Information from Investigator's Report

For some of the dogs brought to Harbin, the journey wasn't over. Because some restaurants (most often Korean) want really fresh meat, some of these hapless dogs were once again put into sacks, then taken to their final destination. At one restaurant the investigator watched as a dog was taken out of a sack. The others were left in the sack on the icy ground. (As each dog was taken out and killed, the others could hear its screams and cries.) According to the investigator, the first dog he saw reacted as any dog would as he was taken out into the light—he showed his trust by wagging his tail. The wagging stopped when the butcher tied the dog up short with a metal wire so the dog could hardly move. The dog began to panic and tried to escape. But the butcher lifted the dog's left hind leg and stabbed him in the groin area. Blood began to pour. The dog howled in pain and struggled more. With every move, the wire cut into the dog's neck. After a couple of minutes, the butcher began to skin the dog.

A German shepherd in Harbin (China) is tethered by a wire noose, then stabbed in the groin, his lifeblood pouring onto the snow. When the skinning begins, dogs like this may still be alive and conscious. Their flesh is served in restaurants; their fur sold to the global fur trade.

As horrifying as this scene was, it got worse. An investigator reported that he saw dogs being butchered who were still conscious as the skinning began, and investigators videotaped a German shepherd blinking his eye as he was being skinned.

In China investigators saw some dogs killed for their fur who appeared to be thick-coated mixed breeds, perhaps chow chow mixes. But most of the dogs bred and killed for the fur trade are German shepherds, the same courageous and noble breed that leads the blind, rescues the victims of disasters, and patrols our streets in partnership with police officers all across America.

Contents
Previous: 2. Cruelty at the source...
Next: 4. Cats fare no better...