Activists educate public and media
about China's killing of cats and dogs for fur

As China prepares to host the Olympics in the capitol city of Beijing this summer, the country's government has been under heavy international fire lately for human rights violations, from the ongoing repression of Tibet to its economic role in the Darfur genocide. The controversy brought thousands of demonstrators last week to San Francisco, the only city in the U.S. where the Olympic torch appeared. With massive international media coverage drawn to the City by the Bay, IDA took this rare opportunity to raise public awareness of an atrocity being committed against animals in China -- the killing of dogs and cats for their fur.

IDA has vigorously protested the Chinese fur industry for many years because of its cruelty. Video footage obtained by undercover investigators has revealed dogs and cats being strangled and electrocuted to death, and being skinned alive, remaining conscious for up to 10 minutes afterwards. Only last year, China passed the first animal welfare laws in its history, but these do not apply to fur farms, so the extreme suffering of fur-bearing animals continues, as in the U.S. -- unregulated and unabated. 

IDA activists joined protesters and sports fans in downtown San Francisco, setting up huge banners at Justin Herman Plaza to show that China needs to reform both their human and animal rights policies. To avoid potential conflicts and confrontations, city officials chose to change the route of the Olympic torch at the last minute and cancelled a scheduled closing ceremony near IDA's spot, but that didn't stop us from holding up posters and passing out flyers detailing China's brutal fur industry. Several newspapers -- including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times -- brought our concerns to millions of readers around the world.

Thanks to all the Bay Area IDA supporters who helped us bring China's animal abuse to light by joining us at the demonstration.