In July 2003, British Trade Minister Mike O’Brien said that his office would move to ban the import of cat and dog fur into Great Britain despite concerns of retaliation by countries exporting such products. But in late January, O’Brien said that his office was still gathering information about the extent of the trade in such furs and whether or not it was possible to implement such a ban.
O’Brien said of the matter,
Animal welfare groups have rightly raised serious ethical concerns about the alleged use of domestic cat and dog fur in the UK. Our priority remains the need to establish the facts about the extent of this alleged trade, to ensure there is a valid scientific test that can identify these furs, and to act in a measured way.
We will continue to monitor the situation and I remain sympathetic on the ethics but we do need clear evidence of the size of the problem and its scale in order to act.
In fact, since the July 2003 announcement, only a single dog fur and no cat furs have been detected being imported into Great Britain.
O’Brien seems to be shifting the onus to the European Union to ban dog and cat fur in order to deflect potential repercussions from such a ban away from Great Britain.
Source:
Case ‘not proven’ for ban. GreenConsumerGuide.Com, January 29, 2004.
Britain Backs Moves For EU Ban On Trade In Cat And Dog Fur. Press Release, Department of Trade and Industry, November 7, 2003.