International Fur Federation claims animal cruelty video is a stunt

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
May 29, 2019

The International Fur Federation is investigating a “potential international conspiracy” to sabotage the fur market.

The global body has released a statement claiming a 2009 exposé was staged by animal rights activists in a move to destroy the reputation of the trade.

The video, showing a raccoon being skinned alive for its fur by two Chinese men, went viral on the internet and caused widespread public revulsion. Over the past ten years, major high-end fashion brands have dropped the use of fur for more sustainable options, with Prada joining the ranks earlier this month.

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But the International Fur Federation claims it has found evidence that the video, captioned  'A shocking look inside Chinese fur farms', was a stunt. According to a team of investigators hired by the IFF, the men were bribed by a woman to skin the animal alive.

In its efforts to fight the trade’s bad reputation, the IFF has released a documentary produced by Phil Braund, a retired TV producer who was responsible for some of ITV news’  biggest undercover scoops in his 20-year career.

The short film shows two Chinese men admitting to receiving a payment for carrying out the stunt. The men provided a lawyer with sworn affidavits, which the IFF believes is damning evidence of a conspiracy to damage their industry.

Mark Oaten, IFF CEO, said: "We have endured 13 years of smears against our industry but we have hopefully ended this now. Our industry is no longer prepared to sit back and allow these fanatics to march into the boardrooms of designers and bring prejudice to our business."

The body has hired a team of top lawyers and media consultants to analyse the situation.