Raccoon Dogs: A No-Win Situation

Raccoon Dog Pups
kathyannepippig / CC

I don't know about you, but before last year, all I knew about melamine was that it was used to make a hard resin for shatter-resistant kitchenware and floor laminates. Unfortunately, some unscrupulous companies in China found another use for it—adding it to foods to make them appear to have higher protein content. This resulted in the illness and deaths of dogs and cats in the U.S. and Europe, and, more recently, of humans (mostly children) in China.

Now comes word that melamine contamination appears to be responsible for killing 1,500 Chinese raccoon dogs. As horrible as it is to die from melamine poisoning, the alternative isn't much better for these animals, because raccoon dogs in China are commonly raised and skinned alive for their fur.

Either way, the responsibility for these horrible deaths falls squarely on the shoulders of those who support this cruelty by buying fur. If the raccoon dogs had been left alone in their native habitats, they wouldn't be eating an artificial, contaminated diet—and they certainly wouldn't face having their skin ripped off their bodies while they are conscious and in agony.

So, as the weather turns colder, if you see any fur-wearers, be sure to ask them if they prefer that the money they spent for that coat, collar, or cuff caused animals to die in agony from toxic kidney failure, or like this:

Written by Jeff Mackey