92001E0359

WRITTEN QUESTION P-0359/01

by Eryl McNally (PSE) to the Commission

(8 February 2001)

Subject: Cat and dog fur trade

Is the European Union aware that we may face an embarrassing situation recently revealed by undercover investigators looking into the trade in cat and dog fur from Asia?

At one Asian showroom, the investigators documented life-size tigers made of dog fur groupee as the Asian merchants call it. Asian representatives told the investigators who posed as businessmen that those large statues are being sold to hotels and museums in Europe for USD 5 000 each.

Would our tourists be happy to hear that dog and cat fur is being used in our facilities? Would the Commission please comment on whether it intends to halt this trade before it tarnishes our businesses and tourism?

Answer given by Mr Lamy on behalf of the Commission

(8 March 2001)

The Commission does not have at his stage precise official information nor any data on imports of cat and dog furs into the Community.

On the question of whether the Commission intends to stop this trade, it should be recalled that trade policy is only an outward projection of the internal policy of the EU. According to the information available, no Member State prohibits the commercial use of such furs. This is why, at this stage, and in the absence of an internal prohibition, the Commission does not intend to propose a prohibition of imports of cat and dog furs which would be contestable as discriminatory and an obstacle to the principle of national treatment.

Nevertheless, in the light of public concern about the commercial exploitation of cat and dog furs, including in international trade, the Commission will follow up this question in order to examine whether it should propose measures at European level, taking into consideration the principle of subsidiarity, and will report back to the Parliament on the matter.