An upsetting video has been made public by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, reportedly showing dogs in China being slaughtered for their skins. The video is accompanied by a report detailing the events witnessed by PETA’s Asian investigator, which includes details of the well known Chinese dog food trade also using the animals slaughtered for food to be used to create leather goods for sale in stores around the World.
The video itself features a number of men holding clubs standing in a room filled with large hooks, dogs are sent into the room one by one where they are clubbed to death. Those who are not killed by the initial blow can be beaten a number of times before they finally die, the PETA investigator also claims the dogs who are skinned in the slaughterhouses are often alive when their hide is removed.
PETA believes the individuals involved in the trade sell the hides of dogs illegally advertised as cow, largely because the skin of dogs and cow look almost identical after removal. Because this practice has only just been uncovered and the networks for selling the dog hides still under investigation it is thought dog leather products could already be on the market in the US, UK and Australia.
In response, PETA has called on shoppers to question where the leather goods they buy have come from before making a purchase.