Nyctereutes Procyonoides

FROM FUR WORLD, VOL. 26, NO. 1, JANUARY 8, 2007

Remember this scientific name: Nyctereutes Procyonoides
It means Finnraccoon or Asian Raccoon, animals that are unrelated to the family dog

A two-pronged fur labeling flap blew up over the just ended holiday season, half of it justified, part of it not. It reached all the way from Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s to Burlington Coat Factory, involved some top designer’s names and provided a field day for animal activists, who all too often don’t like the facts to get in the way.

The justifiable part is that some garments on sale over the holidays were advertised as being trimmed with faux fur, while the labels inside correctly identified the elements as real fur. In some cases the trim was correctly identified as Finnraccoon or Asian Raccoon, with the latter often having the suffix “dog,” even though the animal is not a dog.

“Last week we released information that major U.S. retailers were advertising real fur as faux in Internet, circular and store advertising,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) in a news release dated December 21. “Today we have discovered another major problem: the real fur was mislabeled and the fur comes from a canine species known as ‘raccoon dog.’ All major retailers should pull any raccoon or coyote fur from China until all parties understand the scope of the improper and illegal labeling.”

Incorrectly identifying trim as either fur or faux fur is a violation of the labeling laws. Identifying the species Finnraccoon or Raccoon Dog as the same species as household pets is incorrect.

“The scientific name of Finnraccoon is Nyctereutes Procyonoides,” said Pirrko Rantanen-Kervinen, managing director of Finnish Fur Sales (FFS). “It is a member of the canidae family, but it is not a dog. It is the only species in its genus, Nyctereutes.”

Ms. Rantinen-Kervinen’s statement went on to explain that Finnraccoons and Asian Raccoon Dogs are the same animal. Indigenous to East Asia, they spread to western Russia in the 1930’s and 40’s, and on to contiguous Finland, where they flourished in the lush pine forests.

“In Russia and Japan it has been farmed for a long time,” her statement said, “and in Finland farming was started in the 1940’s. In 2006, Finnish farms produced circa 120,000 Finnraccoon pelts … raised under strict national laws and regulations governing fur production and animal welfare.

“Finnraccoon is sold under the SAGA quality label. Independent monitoring through the Origin Assured-Initiative assures consumers that the SAGA skins are produced with care and respect on European farms.”

The situation hit public consciousness in the New York metropolitan area December 30 with a story in The Daily News headlined “Fur flies as jacket flap dogs Diddy.” It went on to state “Diddy’s in the dog house with animal lovers everywhere after ‘faux’ fur collars on his Sean John coats turned out to come from a real animal called the raccoon dog.”

The story originated with HSUS, which told the paper it had bought garments at a leading retailer and conducted mass spectrometry tests, though no laboratory was credited. The Daily News quoted Combs as saying he had no idea about the situation, since the mislabeled garments are produced by a licensee, but he added that they would be removed from store shelves, and the licensee has been asked not to use the same material in the future.

One Internet blog picked up the story and shoved aside trivia about Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton to proclaim “Fur real, dog: Puff Daddy coats using dog fur?”

It went on to ask “So is Puff daddy, who claims to be the designer behind Sean Jean (sic), the Cruella DeVille of the new century?” DeVille is the demented designer of the Walt Disney film “101 Dalmatians,” who sought to round up that many spotted dogs to make herself a unique coat.

The HSUS subsequently issued releases implicating Baby Phat, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors, A.N.A., Max Mara and Andrew Marc as manufacturers either mislabeling or using “dog” fur for trim. It also said it had found the offending garments in Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s and JCPenney, in addition to Burlington Coat Factory, the nationwide discount chain it had tackled on related charges nine years ago.

Burlington admitted it had sold jackets labeled as using faux fur when the trim was actually real. It agreed to remove the garments from sale and refund the purchase price to any customers who asked.

For further information contact: Teresa Platt, Executive Director, Fur Commission USA, PMB 506, 826 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA 92118-2698 USA, (619) 575-0139, (619) 575-5578/fax, furfarmers@aol.com, www.furcommission.com.

To take a cyber-tour of a fur farm, visit Fur Commission USA's Fur on Film at http://www.furcommission.com/video/index.htm

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