The Skin Trade

The trade in cat and dog skin is not specifically part of the fur trade, since these animals are killed mainly for their skin rather than their fur, though they are also used for meat and animal feed, lard, and aphrodisiacs.

The trade in cat and dog skin is not specifically part of the fur trade, since these animals are killed mainly for their skin rather than their fur, though dogs killed in Thailand are also used for meat and animal feed, lard, and aphrodisiacs. The place and the products are different but the suffering is the same.

The dog and cat skin trade is, like the fur trade, global in scope. Manufacturers that use cat skins from the Philippines and dog skins from Thailand may also be using the skins of dogs and cats killed in China and other countries. Any of these skins could be used in products sold worldwide.

Philippine cat slaughter

In the Phillipines investigators visited a cat slaughterhouse where as many as 100 cats are killed and skinned in one day. Some skins are exported to Japan for use on drums and guitars. Only male cats are killed for their skins because the nipples of female cats reduce the usable size of the skin. This has led to a scarcity of male cats in the city where the slaughterhouse is located, and collectors now drive to distant cities to round up cats in the street.

Some of these animals are strays, but according to sources in the Phillipines, most are stolen pets. The cats are stuffed into sacks and driven to the slaughterhouse, a journey that can last up to six hours, without food or water. While the owners of the cat slaughter operation are extremely wary of strangers, investigators were eventually able to get inside the facility. They found cats crammed into cages, some trying in vain to escape, others paralyzed with fear.

In 1996 the Philippine secretary of agriculture was quoted as saying the slaughter of cats was legal so long as the animals are humanely killed. There is nothing humane about the killing, one by one, cats are hung from their necks by ropes while other cats watch helplessly, the rope is pulled tighter and tighter as they struggle and slowly suffocate. The cats are then skinned, and the skins thrown into ice water. Later, workers scrape off the fat, then salt and fold the skins in preparation for packing and shipping.

Thailand dog slaughter

The slaughter of the dogs in Thailand is primarily for the skin trade, although the government of Thailand largely disapproves of slaughtering dogs, as do most Thais, massive numbers of dogs are killed in the lucrative trade for dog flesh, hide, and other body parts. Investigators documented the slaughter of dogs in the vicinity of Sakhon Nakhon in northeast Thailand , where many different breeds of dogs collected from all over the country are brought to be killed. One estimate is that 30,000 dogs are killed in the area monthly. Many of them puppies.

Dogs are brought into Sakhon Nakhon from other villages, crammed as densely as possible into a cage on the back of the collector’s truck. The journey can take up to three days, and the dogs are denied food and water during the trip. By the time they reach the slaughterhouse many are sick, and some are dead. But their weakened state makes the dogs easier to kill.
It wasn’t easy for investigators to get inside the slaughterhouse because police investigations and unfavourable press reports have made workers suspicious of strangers. But the investigators eventually succeeded. There, they watched as workers sorted dog skins in the dim light.

The next night they watched a truck arrive at the slaughterhouse carrying 70 dogs-mixed breeds, German shepherds, and others. Some, possibly strays were shy and frightened. Others possibly stolen pets looked well groomed and trusting. All met the same fate.

Two men with heavy sticks stood ready atop the roof of a low structure onto which the dogs were unloaded. One dog after another, howling in terror, was pulled from the truck with a wire noose attached to a wooden catch pole. In plain view of the animals still inside the truck, each dog was clubbed several times over the head and on the nose. The dogs screamed in pain. The victims were then thrown to the ground and dragged off by other workers to an area where their throats were slit.

In graphic footage, investigators captured some dogs still moving their tails just before their throats were cut.

There is no evidence of cats being used as part of the Thailand skin trade.

How dog and cat skins are used

A German company dealing in cat fur and skins openly uses cat skin products as rheumatism aids. They make bandages, pulse warmers, and a variety of so-called “medicinal” products. Dog skins are also sold in Germany as orthopedic products.

Elsewhere, dog and cat skins are not quite so visible. Just as labeling is a problem with fur – especially fur trim, knowing what kind of leather is being used in a product can be difficult or impossible.

Dog skin is often labelled as;

Lamb skin, Mountain Skin, Sakhon Nakhon lamb skin, or even “Special skin”

In a particularly gruesome twist, the skins of brutally slaughtered dogs in Thailand, are mixed up with other bits of skin to produce rawhide chew treats for pet dogs.

Rawhide chew sticks are a dog’s favourite treat. But chew sticks from Thailand contain bits of skin from a variety of animals – including domestic dogs. These products are sold in retail stores throughout the United Kingdom — British dog owners may remember that in 2001 chew sticks imported from Thailand were contaminated with salmonella, due to dogs being ill, thousands of boxes had to be recalled from supply from pet shops and stores all over the U.K – and yet these products are still being exported from those countries into the U.K.

Dog and cat skins are used for:

  • Rawhide chew toys for pets, Handbags, Shoes, Bed sheets,
  • Car upholstery
  • Drums and musical instruments
  • Small leather goods
  • Golf gloves
  • Gardening gloves
  • “Medicinal” and orthopedic products
  • Insoles for shoes and boots
  • Sporting goods