Florida Member of Congress Seeks Inquiry Into Dog Leather Entering U.S. Marketplace From China

Rep. Alcee L. Hastings Sickened by PETA Exposé of Dog Slaughter for Gloves, Trim, and Toys, Seeks U.S. Customs Investigation

For Immediate Release:
December 11, 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. 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.”

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.

PETA supports animal rights and 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.