Mills McCartney condemns animal right abuses

Heather Mills McCartney has condemned appalling animal rights abuses in the Czech Republic after the release of secret video footage.

The undercover clips show a factory in the Czech Republic manufacturing fur from cats and dogs, who are kept in dark, cramped conditions before being skinned alive, according to Jam! Showbiz. Campaigners say there are around two million cats and dogs who suffer this fate annually.

Mills McCartney has called on the European Union to stop the abuses, which she says shows there is a "thriving" cat and dog skins industry and trade. Countries such as Denmark, Australia, France and Italy have already instituted bans, but there is no EU-wide ban on the import of cat and dog fur.

She told the media: "Domestic cats are stolen off the streets in the Czech Republic and we're talking about 2,000 to 3,000 just in the Czech Republic, not in the whole of Europe. They skin them alive."

EU lawmaker Struen Stevenson said he backs the appeal. "The main thing that we are seeking is to have an EU-wide ban on the import, export and trade in cat and dog skins," he explained.

"How much more do we have to show to get this ban in place?" Mills McCartney asked the press. "How many more animals have to be skinned alive before they (the Commission) go and do something about it?"