Shocking footage has emerged of the treatment of Angora rabbits which are bred for their fur.
The clip shows the animals apparently squealing in pain as they are pinned down by farmers who roughly pluck the rabbits before returning them to small cages.
Angora rabbits are bred for their silky fur which is used to make angora wool for the fashion and textile industry.
Each hair is just 11 microns in diameter (11 thousandths of a millimetre), making it finer and softer than cashmere.
The footage which was taken in farms across France was secretly recorded by French animal rights campaign group One Voice, who visited six of the farms over a six-month period.
Speaking to the Independent, Muriel Arnal, the president and founder of One Voice said: “We are asking for this process to stop, pure and simple. The rabbits are in pain. They scream as you can see in the video. They are in shock and they scream. It is very difficult.
“Of course, you have to groom them, but you don’t have to groom their genitals and pluck the hair so the skin comes with it. That’s the problem.
“If you have rabbits as pets, it’s different from having them for profit.”
Angora rabbits are among the oldest breeds of domestic rabbits and originated in Turkey. They are popular pets and their long hair requires regular removal, with owners having to shear, comb or pluck their pets several times a year.
If the rabbits’ hair is left, they suffer from an intestinal complaint after grooming themselves known as wool block.
In Angora farms the hairs are plucked from the rabbits rather than shaved in order to obtain longer fibres which fetch a higher price.
One Voice has launched a campaign to ban the commercial breeding of the rabbits and the sale of their wool.
