Raccoon dogs are a member of the dog family native to eastern Asia. Confined to tiny cages on fur farms, extensive documentation has revealedtheseanimals suffering and dyingfor their fur in intensive confinement operations in China and Finland. While they do bear a superficial resemblance to raccoons, raccoon dogs belong exclusively to the Canidae (dog) family and are not related to the Procyonidae (raccoon) family. In Canada, raccoon dog fur is deceptively labeled as ‘Asiatic raccoon’ or ‘raccoon’ in an attempt to make the product more marketable.
Mislabelling is routine, even for big U.S. retailers. Other retailers busted for false fur claims include Steinmart, Rainbow, KGirl and even Kitson.Major Canadian retailers have also been caught advertising “fake fur” when the products were made from real fur.
Last year, an investigation by our Association revealed that several coats sold online through Sears.ca and The Bay.ca that were advertised as “faux fur” actually contained real animal fur. A sweater bought in store at Winners contained labels on the item claiming the fur trim was both fake and real fur, although it was verified to be 100% real animal fur.
Take Action:
1. Never buy real OR fake fur.
2. If you live in Canada – Please ask your Member of Parliament to push for legislation that would make it mandatory for companies to properly label all fur products, including the species and country of origin.
3. If you live in the U.S. – Please make a brief, polite phone call to Century 21 Department Store at 1-877-350-2121 and ask them to say no to the cruel and unnecessary fur trade. Make sure to mention if you are a Century 21 customer.
