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New York bans grisly electrocution of animals for fur

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

6:03 PM EDT, April 30, 2008

NEW YORK - The fox is yanked from among the rows of cramped, filthy cages where it has spent its short life. Metal rods are attached in two locations and a battery turned on, electrocuting the animal for its fashionable fur.

And it doesn't always work the first time.

The gruesome practice, called anal and genital electrocution, was caught at a rogue fur farm by an animal rights advocate's undercover investigation. Such electrocution is now banned in New York, the first state to do so.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals doesn't expect New York to be alone for long: the organization will use the new law, effective this year, to push other states to outlaw the brutal practices of farms operating on the fringes of the industry, often hidden away in rural stretches where the animals are born and bred unsheltered in cages.

"Anal electrocution is common practice in fur farms across the world," said Melissa Karpel of Norfolk, Va., a senior campaign coordinator for PETA. "A lot of these methods aren't effective and these animals will wake up while they are being skinned."

New York's ban on the practice for a wide range of animals was signed in March, one of the final acts of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer before he resigned after he was implicated in a prostitution ring. Nothing was made of the passage then in the tumultuous transition to a new governor. But the law's advocates have been using it to press for more legislation that would outlaw other common killing techniques, including neck-breaking and injection of muscle paralyzers to minimize cost and damage to fur.

The law makes the electrocutions a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. It applies to fur-bearing animals including foxes, chinchillas, mink, pine marten, and muskrats.

Despite the heated and organized debate over killing animals for fur coats, the measure drew strong support from Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives in New York's legislature. Lawmakers agreed up front to put aside the question of whether killing animals for fur is moral, according to the bill's documentation.

The bill memo states "anal and genital electrocution is a severely inhumane way to bring about the desired death; it causes a protracted and painful cessation of life for the animal. At the very least, we have an interest in requiring those who kill animals to do so in a way that is adjudged humane and comports with the best practices as recognized by the 'fur farming' industry."

There is no similar law or pending bill in other states, said Janna Goodwin of the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Most established fur farms adhere to American Veterinary Medical Association standards, said Teresa Platt, executive director of the Fur Commission USA, a trade association with members on 330 farms in 28 states. The standards allow for use of electricity to kill some animals, although mink are usually killed by gas, she said.

She said there are rogue fur suppliers out there, but she doubts there are many because they risk their farms and imprisonment on cruelty charges if caught. Most fur farms raise the animals for about seven months in pens before they are euthanized, she said.

The bill "shouldn't have been introduced, it certainly shouldn't have been passed," she said. She said New York would have better spent money on research about electricity and euthanasia rather than listening to the "propaganda campaign" of animal rights groups.

Business is good. A mink pelt, for example, is expected to sell for about $70 this year, although a top pelt recently sold for $2,200 and was likely intended for royalty, she said.

In New York, the issue drew together powerful and disparate sponsors: State Sen. Frank Padavan is a Republican-Conservative from Queens and Assemblywoman Deborah Glick of Manhattan is a senior member of the more liberal Democrat-led Assembly.

"I think that it's been a somewhat standard practice in ensuring that no damage was done to the pelt," Glick said of the now-banned killings. "The electrocution usually affixed to animals' privates is a needless suffering."

"I would hope that this would be a model and would in fact be adopted in other states," she said.

"Like most people, I didn't know this was going on," Padavan said. "This particular method was considered to be very painful."

He said he knows the killings were done in New York by disreputable fur peddlers. He said at least seven of the nation's 16 mink farms are in New York. An untold number of fox fur farms are also operating nationwide, he said.

"I draw a very strong correlation between how we treat domestic animals and all animals and how we treat each other," Padavan said. "I also love animals."