P Diddy rapped for selling coats made from dog pelts
Store pulls 'designer' items off shelves after 'fake fur' claim is proved wrong
By Anthony Barnes and Jonathan Owen
Published: 24 December 2006
P Diddy, the king of bling and a fashion inspiration to millions of hip hop fans, has been heavily criticised for selling designer coats made with fur from dogs. The animals, from China, are killed using barbaric methods.
Multi-millionaire Diddy - real name Sean Combs - has been selling the coats under his designer label Sean John. A £122 hooded snorkel jacket was being sold through the Macy's department store's website with an "imitation rabbit fur collar".
But when customers took delivery they found that the jacket carried the wording "genuine raccoon fur". Tests conducted by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), America's largest animal charity, found that the fur actually came from raccoon dogs, which are found across Asia but raised in huge numbers in China specifically for their pelts.
Undercover footage of raccoon dog slaughter and fur production in China filmed by the charity revealed the "gruesome" way the animals are treated.
Kristin Leppert, fur campaign manager for the HSUS, said: "It is a really gruesome process. They are raised in intensive confinement and they are not even unconscious when they are rendered...
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