ANIMAL welfare charities have attacked the sale of a cuddly ornament, which is made out of dead goats and rabbits.

The cat and kitten product was bought from a stall on Bolton Market by a Bolton Evening News reporter, and is labelled as being made from "domesticated rabbit and goat fur".

The information claims that the animals were farm raised for their food value and their fur was a "by-product" of this process.

But Bolton animal welfare groups say they are "very concerned", and have warned the public to be aware that these items are made from real goat and rabbit fur.

Kevin Hegarty, Press Officer for Bolton RSPCA, said: "We are concerned about the rabbits' and goats' welfare and the conditions they were kept in.

"We would like to know how they were slaughtered, and if they were slaughtered humanely.

"These are things that people who sell these products and members of the public who buy these items have to be aware of. People should know what they're buying." And Joanne Clements, Manager of Leigh Animal Sanctuary, said: "I cannot believe it. People should definitely stop buying them."

But a stallholder on Bolton market who sells the products said that she did not think it was cruel to stock them.

She said: "Everyone is selling them and they are popular with customers."

And Tony O'Donnell, the Manager of O'Donnells Cash and Carry, Cheetham Hill, which supplied the stallholder, said he believed that the stuffed cat and kitten came from the Far East.