Furry Toy Souvenirs Made With Real Fur, Hide

5:48 pm EDT May 20, 2005-WTFV News

ORLANDO, Fla. -- An Eyewitness News investigation has found Central Florida stores selling furry souvenirs made with real animal hide and fur. Channel 9 bought animal figurines at Central Florida shops and sent them for DNA analysis at a nationally known crime lab. The results were startling. The animals weren't covered in synthetic fur, but in real animal hides such as goat and rabbit. Some of a toy kangaroo's fur came from what appears to be rat, and the lab couldn't rule out dog hide and fur on a monkey.

"It's pretty incredible, actually. It's hard to believe that some people are actually making figurines out of dogs and rats and passing them off just to make a profit," said parent Maurice Simmons.

The fur figurine industry is a four to five million dollar a year business in Asia, which is where experts said most of the animals come from.

View the complete story at http://www.wftv.com/news/4513895/detail.html