Import Ban on Products Made of Dog, Cat Fur Clears Senate

The Senate agreed Friday to ban imports of products made from dog and cat fur, a practice that was uncovered by a leading animal rights group last year.

The measure, sponsored by Senate Finance Committee Chairman William V. Roth Jr. (R-Del.), was part of a bill dealing with noncontroversial import duty issues and technical changes to trade laws. The bill passed by voice vote.

The measure bans imports of products made from dog and cat fur and requires labeling of all fur products.

The issue came to light last year after the Humane Society of the United States sent investigators posing as garment and fur buyers to China, Thailand and the Philippines and discovered cat and dog fur was being used in a number of products.

The animal rights group said the animals were kept in appalling conditions and their fur and skin would end up in coats, gloves, car upholstery, children’s toys and other goods sold in Europe, Asia and the United States.

The bill also includes a ban on so-called gray-market cigarettes, which are manufactured abroad bearing U.S.-registered trademarks and exported to the United States.

The Senate Finance Committee said the practice decreases the amount available to states from a tobacco litigation settlement fund.

Gray market cigarettes may account for as much as 14% of the market in the United States, the committee said.