Οι αγελάδες είναι ευγενικά και ευαίσθητα πλάσματα, όμως ο τρόπος με τον οποίο τις μεταχειρίζονται οι άνθρωποι κάθε άλλο παρά ευγενικός και ευαίσθητος είναι.
Lots of people who would never dream of wearing fur don't think about the enormous cruelty that goes into every leather jacket, bag, belt or pair of shoes. But every leather item was also once the skin of an animal who was violently killed as part of the international skins trade.
Believe it or not, Indian cows are among the animals abused for their skins. I personally followed the cattle trail in the south of India – one of the world's top leather exporters – where I witnessed some of the saddest scenes imaginable. On our website, you can view the video footage taken on that gruelling trip. I urge you to watch the video now and see for yourself the terrible cruelty which I saw during my investigation.
http://www.e-activist.com:80/ea-campaign/broadcast.response.do?ea.url.id=4546&ea.campaigner.email=mariza.christodoulou@gmail.com
It shows frail cows who are forced to walk miles in the heat and dust without a drop of water or any food. When the exhausted cows become too weak to stand, hot chilli peppers are rubbed into their eyes. Their tails are broken, segment by segment, to force them to move again out of sheer pain. Later, the animals are piled into trucks, the weak trampled by those still able to stand up, and calves and sick cows are often crushed to death or gouged by the long horns of the other animals. When the survivors arrive at the slaughterhouse confused, exhausted and terrified, they are killed in full view of each other – sometimes by children armed with dull knives – and are stripped of their skin, often while they are still conscious.
Animal protection laws are rarely enforced, and police and border guard corruption is rampant, so these sensitive animals – theoretically held sacred in India – are treated without mercy or compassion.
Because so much leather is imported to British shops from India and China – where conditions are at least as appalling – we must take responsibility for reforming this abhorrent industry. That's why PETA and our affiliates around the world are working hard to end their suffering as well as to draw attention to alternatives to wearing leather!
Pressure from PETA affiliates has already convinced international fashion retailers and designers, including Gap, Gucci, Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Kenneth Cole, to stop using Indian and Chinese leather.
Leading names in the fashion industry are now speaking out, thanks to the efforts of PETA and its affiliates. The very kind Tim Gunn, the chief creative officer for the international fashion house Liz Claiborne Inc. and presenter of TV's Project Catwalk, recently teamed up with PETA US to create a new video aimed at showing clothing designers exactly how animals are cruelly killed for their skin, wool or fur. The video, called "Fashion Victims", shows horrific footage of animals who have large chunks of skin and flesh cut from their rumps without anything to dull the pain … others have their throats cut and the skin torn from their bodies whilst they are still conscious … still others are caught in steel traps and left to drown while desperately struggling to break free … and worse, if you can possibly imagine it.
Just days after receiving the video from Tim Gunn, Donna Karan released a statement saying that her autumn collection will be fur-free and that she has "no plans" to use fur in the future. A victory!
We're also persuading shoppers to buy cruelty-free. Through our online advocacy campaigns, PETA and our affiliates reach millions of people every month (more than all other animal rights organisations in the world combined) with our powerful message about the misery and death that goes into every leather jacket, handbag and pair of boots.
Ingrid E Newkirk, PETA
