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[Bill Jones <billj AT harborside.com>]

 McCartney boycotts China over fur

Tuesday, November 29, 2005 Posted: 0956 GMT (1756 HKT)

LONDON, England -- Former Beatle Paul McCartney has said he will never 
perform in China after watching a video of dogs and cats being killed 
for the fur trade.

The ex-Beatle was given a preview screening of undercover footage taken 
in a fur market in Guangzhou, southern China.

Dogs and cats packed in tiny crates are shown being thrown from the top 
deck of a bus onto concrete pavements.

In another piece of footage, cats are seen alive inside a sack before 
being thrown into boiling water. Laughing workers were filmed stabbing 
and beating the animals to death.

The report was filmed by an investigator linked to the People for the 
Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) campaign group, and given to the BBC.

Before broadcasting the video to the public, the BBC showed the film to 
McCartney and his wife, Heather.

McCartney said: "This is barbaric. Horrific. It's like something out of 
the dark ages. And they seem to get a kick out of it. They're just sick, 
sick people.

"I wouldn't even dream of going over there to play, in the same way that 
I wouldn't go to a country that supported apartheid.

"This is just disgusting. It's just against every rule of humanity. I 
couldn't go there. If they want to consider themselves a civilized 
nation they're going to have to stop this."

The animal rights campaigner added: "How can the host nation of the 
Olympics be seen allowing animals to be treated in this terrible way?"

Heather McCartney said: "I've seen so much footage where these poor 
creatures are clearly alive then they're skinned. And for what? For 
fashion? It's sick.

"People in every other country in the world should now boycott Chinese 
goods."