Tennessee Member of Congress Pushes to Stop Importation of Dog Leather From China

Rep. Steve Cohen Joins Congressional Request for Customs Investigation After PETA Exposes That Dogs Are Slaughtered for Gloves, Trim, and Toys

For Immediate Release:
December 22, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

As dog leather is busily being turned into fancy women’s gloves, men’s work gloves, and other small leather accessories in China, U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee’s Ninth District has joined Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada and Rep. Alcee L. Hastings of Florida in sending a letter calling on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to take steps to ensure that dog leather does not enter the United States.

In the letter, available here, the representatives note that while the U.S. has banned the importation and sale of fur and leather made from dogs and cats, a PETA Asia investigation revealed that workers grabbed terrified dogs with a metal noose, clubbed them, slit their throats, and cut off their skin to make dog-leather gloves, toys, belts, and other items that were later exported to the U.S. They propose randomly testing Chinese leather products to make sure that America’s import laws are not being openly violated.

“PETA Asia has documented that American consumers are being duped into buying the skin of dogs who were rounded up, bludgeoned to death, and skinned for cheap Chinese leather imports,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Dog-leather gloves and other articles are never labeled with the animals’ species, so these forward-thinking members of Congress are calling on U.S. customs to make sure that America’s import laws are being enforced.”

As exposed by PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—a PETA Asia investigator obtained dog-leather gloves (photos here) from China’s Jiangsu province, where dog slaughter is a regional trade. PETA Asia’s investigator learned that one facility alone bludgeoned and skinned 100 to 200 dogs a day, and the investigator saw workers tear the skin off dogs who were still alive.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.