EU ban targets use of cat, dog fur

The European Parliament overwhelmingly approved a ban on trade in products containing cat or dog fur. The ban, which must be approved by European Union governments, would take effect in 2009.

The European Commission says cat and dog fur can be found in some clothing, personal accessories and soft toys being sold on the European market, either falsely labeled as another kind of fur or hidden within the product.

But it said that due to the secretive nature of the trade it was hard to quantify the amount of cat and dog fur entering the EU market and that there were no official data.