Melamine and the Raccoon Dogs of Asia

In China, 1500 raccoon dogs died in the last two months from eating melamine tainted food. The dogs died from kidney failure . What was even more appalling than the fact that China has still not reined in the use of unsafe levels of melamine in food, is that these dogs are specifically bred to produce fur for clothing. According to a Wikipedia article, three animal rights groups led an investigation in 2004 and 2005 and claimed that 1.5 million raccoon dogs were being raised for fur. The animal is not a true dog, but is a member of the canid family. It lives in the wild in Asia, but its feral numbers are diminishing. It is described as a non agressive, monogamous, non barking species.

Stores in the U.S. have been forced to pull their wares after it was pointed out that the fur on the collars of clothing they were selling was not synthetic, but raccoon dog fur. The Humane Society of the United States is calling for a ban on raccoon dog fur in the U.S. On their Fur Free web page, HSUS reports that both P Diddy Combs and Jay Z have clothing lines that used raccoon dog fur. JC Penny's was selling apparel with what claimed to be raccoon fur on it, but was in fact raccoon dog fur.

Why do people want to even pretend to wear raccoon fur? As long as there is a demand for fur on clothing, animals will suffer. And clearly we need to keep a diligent watch on the food we select for our dogs and ourselves. It seems wise right now to avoid any food produced in China.