Evidence of a thriving cat and dog fur trade in many European countries including France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark, has been exposed by the Humane Society International.

DNA tests have shown that many rugs, coats, figurines and some children's soft-toys on sale in shops were made from real cat and dog fur, which are usually marketed as being made of synthetic fur.

Pressure for a ban has been mounting for months, including a major campaign championed by Heather Mills-McCartney which demanded an immediate end to the trade.

The ban proposed by Markos Kyprianou, Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, in Brussels today involves ending the production, marketing and trade of cat and dog fur throughout the EU, and establishing a system of information exchange on the detection of cat and dog fur.

Mr Kyprianou said: "The message that we have received from EU consumers has been loud and clear. They do not find it acceptable to farm cats and dogs for their fur, nor do they want products containing such fur sold on the European market.

"In Europe, as you know, cats and dogs are considered companion animals and nothing else, but many citizens, members of the European Parliament, ministers and even myself have seen shocking images of cats and dogs being kept in cages and slaughtered in cruel and shocking conditions for their fur.

"The EU ban we are proposing today will mean that consumers can rest assured that they are not inadvertently buying products containing cat or dog fur."

Fifteen EU member states have already introduced bans on cat and dog fur which range from the rearing and slaughter of cats and dogs to labelling requirements to restrictions on production and imports.

However, the European Commission said these differences pose problems for consumers and retailers buying and trading abroad and that an EU-wide approach would be more effective.

The European Commission said it found cat and dog fur in some clothing, personal accessories and soft toys for children being sold on the European market.

"Just the idea of young children playing with toys which have been made with dog and cat fur is really something we cannot accept," Mr Kyprianou said.

Mrs Mills-McCartney, an outspoken campaigner on the subject, has visited the European Parliament twice to protest about the slaughter of millions of animals a year in China.

On one occasion, she broke down in tears at the screening of a video showing cats and dogs being rounded up and their skins being stripped from them live - to avoid the cost of humane killing.

An investigation by the Humane Society International found that cat and dog fur production has taken place in the Czech Republic and some Eastern European countries, but the main producer is said to be China, which the organisation said kills 5,400 cats and dogs each day.

Mr Kyprianou said he hoped for legislation to be in place by the start of 2008. He said enforcing such a ban would require sophisticated detection methods, including DNA testing, which could differentiate between cat and dog fur and other fur - even it has been treated or dyed.

Chris Davies, Liberal Democrat MEP, one of the authors of a European Parliament declaration behind the campaign for a ban, said: "The Commission has been telling us for years that it had no power to act, so it's good news that their lawyers have found a way around the obstacles.

"This is a disgusting, cruel and unregulated business, with animals kept in appalling conditions and sometimes skinned alive. By closing Europe's markets once and for all to the products, we have a real chance of stamping out the trade at source."

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