Thanks for the welcome back, Jackie and Anne. The Animal Protection forum is too important for me to walk away from so....I'm back.
Ann, you're as familiar (and probably more so) on this subject than I. While the U.S. and the European Union have taken measures against this trade, there is a huge market left for the Chinese to exploit. Russia is among its biggest customers.
I don't have a lot of confidence in what the U.S. has done in this regard. We've already seen toxic wheat gluten in our dog food and lead paint on toys sold here. Everyone seems more interested in 'getting it cheap' than with any concern for how it's so cheap. Where's the oversight/regulation/monitoring? Are these companies not responsible for the end products they sell to us? At least with awareness, we can pressure these guys to do business more responsibly/ethically.
BTW, the links I put in my OP are in no way graphic. I suggested googling 'Chinese Raccoon Dog' just to see the results that come up, but wouldn't recommend opening any of those sites unless you are prepared for some very disturbing images.
Thank you all for reading. This IS hard-to-take stuff, but we can't turn a blind eye and hope for things to get better on their own. |