News & Rants From The Devil

By Stan The Devil

The national animal rights group known as the Humane Society will ask the Federal Trade Commission to fine retailers and designers for their use of garments containing mislabeled or properly labeled dog fur. Further, they would like the inventories seized and charges filed.

An investigation by the Humane Society turned up products that were made with fur from dogs, wolves or raccoon dogs, a species found mainly in Asia, that were sold as either fake fur or other types of fur in violation of the Federal Fur Products Labeling Act. Current fines for mislabeling fur is punishable by up to a $5,000 fine or a year in prison. Fur valued at less than $150 doesn’t have to be labeled.

"Consumers have a right to know what they are purchasing," said Michael Markarian, the executive vice president of the Humane Society. "If they are truly getting a type of dog fur, they should be outraged."

The results of the Humane Society investigations set some retailers scrambling to pull the coats from shelves, take them off Web sites and offer refunds to consumers. They include Nordstrom, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Burlington Coat Factory. None of them was named in the Humane Society’s complaint to the FTC.

"We believe that many of the companies were just as shocked as we were," Markarian said about various responses to the investigations. "Some companies have been leading the way…. The other companies, by comparison, have done nothing."

Barking At A Fox-Fur Coat by Donald Davis	Many Tender Ties: Women in Fur-Trade Society, 1670-1870	A fifty-Year History of The Humane Society of The United States

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