10:48 PM ET 06/09/99Dog, Cat Fur Products May Be Banned Dog, Cat Fur Products May Be Banned By CASSANDRA BURRELL= Associated Press Writer= WASHINGTON (AP) _ Selling or making products with dog or cat fur should be a federal crime, two members of Congress said Wednesday. Sen. William Roth, R-Del., and Rep. Jerry Kleczka, D-Wis., are introducing legislation that calls for a maximum $25,000 fine or up to a year in prison for people convicted of manufacturing, transporting or selling clothing, toys or other items made with the fur or skins of dogs and cats. There is no evidence that pets are being killed in the United States for their fur, but DNA tests on furs have confirmed that products made with dog or cat hair have been sold in this country. Although slaughtering the animals for their fur or their meat is a common practice overseas, it is not acceptable in the United States, Roth and Kleczka said. ``This is a very important occasion, one that runs to the heart of who we are and what we hold dear and meaningful in our lives,'' Roth said as Colby, Kleczka's pet Sheltie, barked at reporters attending a news conference. ``There is a special relationship between men and children and their family pets _ but especially their dogs and cats,'' Roth said. ``No matter where in the world this merchandise is made, there will be no legitimate market for it here. ... I want to ensure that the U.S. market does not encourage the slaughter of dogs or cats for their fur.'' At the news conference, Roth, Kleczka and officials of the Humane Society of the United States displayed two stuffed cats made with cat hair, a coat trimmed in dog hair and a full-length woman's coat made of hair from tabby cats. The fur also can be found in gloves, fur linings and insoles for shoes and boots. An estimated 2 million dogs and cats are killed each year _ often in inhumane ways _ primarily in China and other Asian countries for the international fur trade. Buyers of clothing often are unaware that their purchases include dog and cat hair because they are intentionally mislabeled with exotic ``fantasy names'' _ such as Asian jackal, sobaki, wildcat, goyangi and katzenfelle _ to make them more attractive to American consumers, said Richard Swain Jr., the Humane Society's vice president for investigative services. An 18-month investigation by the Humane Society revealed that some of the products had been sold to Burlington Coat Factory, to the surprise of the company's officials, Swain, a former police officer, said. Since then, the company has joined the group campaigning against the products, he said. Humane Society investigators also discovered that dog and cat fur sometimes is dyed and processed to resemble fur from other animals. ``Twenty-years of police work did not prepare me for what I saw in China,'' Swain said. ``The suffering of the dogs and cats who are killed for their fur was horrible to witness and is something I will never forget.'' The Roth and Kleczka bills would require that all fur or fur-lined products be labeled accurately, regardless of their cost. The Humane Society also said current U.S. laws are ineffective because they generally do not apply to products that costs less than $150.