UPDATE: More Congress Members Join Fight Against Dog Leather

UPDATE: Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen and Nevada Rep. Dina Titus have joined Florida Rep. Alcee L. Hastings in sending a second letter calling on Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to take steps to ensure that dog leather does not enter the United States.

Originally posted December 11, 2015:
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. Alcee L. Hastings has sent a letter calling on Customs and Border Protection Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske to take steps to ensure that dog leather does not enter the United States.

In his letter, available here, Hastings notes that while the U.S. has banned the import 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. Hastings proposes randomly testing Chinese leather products to make sure that America’s import laws are not being openly violated.

“PETA Asia has documented that dogs were rounded up, beaten in the head and body with a metal bar or wooden post, skinned, and made into leather gloves bound for the United States,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “These articles are never labeled ‘dog leather,’ so the U.S. needs to step up and protect America’s import laws, its consumers, and dogs alike.”

A PETA Asia investigator obtained dog-leather gloves 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.

What You Can Do

Take the pledge and give leather the boot.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.