PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has recently released chilling footage from an undercover angora fur investigation in China. The video documents white angora rabbits subjected to heinous barbarity. The rabbits are affixed to boards and their hair is torn out by Chinese workers without remorse as they scream in pain, and bleed from the torture. The video has sparked nationwide outrage, and companies like IC Companys and H&M are speaking out.

Just Style quotes IC Companys whose brands include Tiger of Sweden and Peak Performance:
"No product is so important for the market and certainly not for us as a company that it justifies this mistreatment of animals," IC Companys said in a statement.

"The practices shown in the documentary are clearly not in line with our policy and we will do our utmost to stop this practice."

"We will only begin using angora again when we are able to set up a supply chain with full transparency in terms on animal welfare issues on the angora rabbit farms," it added.

"We have already started this process with our production offices in Hong Kong and Shanghai."

H&M has made a statement to Peta that their company only outsources angora fur from farms that practice animal husbandry. and that those farms are audited spontaneously to ensure the nature of their practice is acceptable.

90% of angora fur comes from China, and there are no penalties for animal abuse on rabbit farms, nor are there any regulations on the treatment of animals. according to Daiji World .

After the rabbits have been plucked the workers confine them to tiny barren cages, where they are often unable to move due to the trauma of having their fur ripped out. The rabbits will endure the torment in 3 month intervals, until they are deemed useless and farmers slit their throats.

France 24 quotes PETA,
"PETA is appealing to shoppers in the lead-up to Christmas and Chinese New Year. Please take the time to read the label on that sweater or scarf," said PETA Asia vice president Jason Baker in a statement.

"If it says 'angora', remember the gentle rabbits whose fur was cruelly ripped out of their skin -- and then leave the item on the rack."

Image: Wikimedia Commons