With horror many of us have heard of, or seen, images and videos of cats being skinned alive to be served up as food. In the Asian culture, although some cats, dogs, and rabbits, are kept as pets, they are also offered as meals. In some cultures meat is believed to pass on the animals “powers” when it is served closely following its death. In the market places animals are sold live, either in cages, or with their legs bond. As such it can be slaughtered quickly and eaten at once.
North Americans sometimes have an issue with this, but keep in mind, we do the same for lobsters.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cats_before_slaughter_03.JPG Cats for sale as food in Asian Market.
To go further in some cultures the more pain an animal experiences towards its death, the more power is passed on to the one who eats it. As such a few are known to skin the animals alive. Again this is not limited to Asians, there have been a few cases where animals on the slaughter floors in other countries have been only stunned and then skinned (rabbits, cattle), or dipped in boiling water (pigs).
You can do your own research on this if you want more information. The point of this article is not about that… it is about the childrens toys made from animals skinned (either while alive or not) and being sold in areas where people think that eating such animals is cruel.
These toys (marketed mostly for kids) are made from the skins and fur of cats and rabbit, perhaps dog too (I cannot be certain). They often are formed into the shapes of cats, dogs, and other “cute” animals. Often they have noise making devices inside to simulate a “meow” sound. Rather hideous if you think about their origins.
The toys in these photos are about 4 inches (10 cm) high, the fur is soft, but the body underneath is hard.
The same people who think eating cat, dog, and rabbit, is disgusting, and who are irate at the notion of such animals being skinned alive, buy up these toys for their children. Do you see a problem here?
The pictures of the toys were taken at a market in North America. It was difficult to photograph in their location as such the red tone is not natural. I work in a retail gift store and can assure you that wholesalers for these toys are not hard to find and they can be bought easily by retailers in North America, where they are marketed as gifts for animal lovers, and children. The sellers (wholesalers) do not hide the fact that the toys are made with real fur.
You can not condemn Asians for killing, and eating, cats, rabbits, and dogs, if you have ever purchased a toy made from the skin and fur of such animals, or indeed if you have ever eaten meat yourself.
Related Links
Paying for Cruelty in the Pet Industry
The Horror of the Karakul Sheep Industry
Stuffing Dead Animals or Stuffing Yourself with Dead Animals
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Liked it
PARAM
On August 9, 2010 at 3:48 am
Another good post……Keep going.
Minister Marlene
On August 9, 2010 at 3:49 am
I’ve seen these toys didn’t know about this, it’s awful but atrocities will always go on.
It’s good to hear about our ugliness and hypocrisy. Can’t change what we don’t know about.
They better not come within an inch of my little kitten.
Bo Russo
On August 9, 2010 at 3:55 am
Good eye opening awareness B., I never even thought about that, we buy lots of toys for our daughters, as you well know Becky and Jessie, I didn’t realize it was real animal fur, that’s kind of sick really.
papaleng
On August 9, 2010 at 5:23 am
A very alarming practice, I have seen cats being dipped in a boiling water but not animals skinned and made into toys. Such very cruel acts.
Ethics0006
On August 9, 2010 at 6:04 am
Great Write dear
omen1
On August 9, 2010 at 9:34 am
i am a cat lover, and i am disturbed by this. if it was a source of food, i can understand as it is a way to survive. but to kill to make toys, when there is so many alternative artificial furs available is just plain cruel. thank you for this eye opening article.
Jimmy Shilaho
On August 9, 2010 at 10:04 am
Are you serious?
webseowriters
On August 9, 2010 at 10:58 am
Very nice and impressive post
Dana11
On August 9, 2010 at 5:18 pm
They may make cats pets their, but people abuse animals in America and fight Pit Bulls. And there’s so many puppy mills that are 100 times worse than that. Not only that, 1 million dogs or more get put down each here because of the carelessness of Americans. So, what’s the difference?
Darla Cooke
On August 10, 2010 at 11:44 am
An interesting and very disturbing article. I’ll not be buying any furry animal toys after reading this.
Jo Oliver
On August 10, 2010 at 10:17 pm
OMG- B. I am speechless, and that doesnt happen too often.
MsPatriciaDV
On August 12, 2010 at 3:26 am
Don’t blame everything to Asians. Well, not all Asians allow and tolerate this practice. There are also non – Asians who practice disturbing and alarming inhumane acts on animals. And there are a lot of Asians who condemn such practices and demand this to stop.
I am an Asian myself and I keep cats as pets and feed stray cats whenever and wherever I see one.
Anyway, nice post.
PR Mace
On August 12, 2010 at 11:36 pm
This a disturbing and inhumane act in my opinion.
snowcat46
On August 22, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Very disturbing article. You are very articulate, getting your point across quite well. I’ve seen these “gifts” but never thought about them. I never knew these things were made from real fur.
N.America can’t say too much, since hunters skin bear and so on. Deer hunters love their antlers. I’m quite sure taxidermy is still here, so people can keep their beloved pets even after death. I can’t even say much, since if my beloved dog dies, I plan on having him cremated and keeping his ashes.
iworkathome
On September 10, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Wow, I can’t stand cats and even I think that is sick!