LONDON, May 28, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The International Fur Federation is keen to dispute claims that animals are skinned alive for their pelts to supply the fashion industry. The International Fur Federation believes that a 2009 video, showing a raccoon being skinned alive for its fur, has caused a ban in fashion fur. A team of top lawyers and media consultants have been hired to analyse the situation.

The investigators hired by the International Fur Federation (IFF) claim they have unearthed evidence that the video was a stunt. Subsequently, they have released a documentary to explore the potential international conspiracy to allegedly destroy the reputation of the fur trade.

The documentary was produced by Phil Braund, a retired senior producer for ITV news in the UK, who was responsible for some of the broadcaster's biggest undercover scoops in a 20 year career.

The 2009 footage, captioned 'A shocking look inside Chinese fur farms', caused widespread public revulsion and potentially contributed to fur being dropped from the catwalk by major high-end fashion brands.

The International Fur Federation believes it now has "irrefutable proof" that the act was staged by animal rights activists in a potentially deliberate attempt to damage the industry. The IFF claims that their investigators were able to persuade the men to confess on video that they had been bribed by a woman, understood to be an animal rights activist, to carry out the stunt.

The men provided a lawyer with sworn affidavits, which the IFF believes is damning evidence of a conspiracy to damage their industry.

Mark Oaten, IFF CEO, said: "We have endured 13 years of smears against our industry but we have hopefully ended this now. Our industry is no longer prepared to sit back and allow these fanatics to march into the boardrooms of designers and bring prejudice to our business."

The IFF documentary can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8lZQnTbn-A&feature=youtu.be

About the International Fur Federation

The IFF (International Fur Federation) is the global body representing associations from all aspects of the fur supply chain, and has members in 38 countries around the world. The IFF encourages high standards of welfare for wild and farmed fur, assesses the industry's environmental impact, with a clear code of practice, while promoting transparency for consumers, and encouraging young people and start up businesses wishing to enter the sector.

SOURCE International Fur Federation