Bill proposed on banning sale of cat, dog fur

By Kim Bo-eun

Rep. Lee Jeong-mi of the minor opposition Justice Party on Thursday proposed a bill banning the sale of cat and dog fur.

At a joint press conference with the animal rights group Coexistence of Animal Rights on Earth (CARE), the lawmaker said existing customs regulations need to be revised so that the production as well as the import and export of cat and dog fur is banned.

Lee cited a recent study that found a cat toy and key rings on sale were made of cat fur. Korea does not produce such fur products, so they are presumed to have been imported from China.

“The government must initiate a study into products made with dog and cat fur, which are being retailed and sold without a management system, and must begin with big retailers that import large amounts of the fur,” Lee said.

“The proposed bill must be passed,” she said.

Park So-youn, head of CARE, said, “We need to change our perceptions according to the status quo, in which 10 million people live with pets, in order to create a society in which humans and animals coexist.”

“We need to ban the import of animal fur products made by abusing animals and substitute them with fake animal fur,” she said.

There are currently no laws about animal fur.

The animal protection law subjects the murder of a stray cat to a maximum of two years in prison, or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Many countries around the world have banned farms raising animals for the purpose of obtaining their fur, as well as sales and marketing of fur products.

The U.K., Austria and Japan have banned such farms. More countries are currently in the process of establishing laws banning animal fur including the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark.