Written by PETA
Toronto Fashion Week is all about the clothes, but one star was there in the flesh—hers. With her naked body painted to resemble a lizard's skin, Laura Vandervoort, of Smallville and V fame, stars in a new ad for PETA (shot by photographer Nick Saglimbeni) that she unveiled at Toronto Fashion Week while asking her fellow Canadians to shed exotic skins from their wardrobes.
Laura first appeared as a reptile in V, but this time around, she reprised her role as a lithe lizard to help protect the animals from being killed for their skins. "Three or four alligators have to die for one purse," she said in an exclusive interview from the photo shoot. "They nail the snake's head to a tree while it is still alive and peel its skin off. Because they are cold-blooded creatures, they take that much longer to die, so they suffer that much longer. … [Y]ou wouldn't skin your dog to wear to an event, to go out on a date, just for a status symbol. So please, have some compassion for animals."
To see behind-the-scenes video footage from Laura's photo shoot and enter to win a faux-snakeskin bag, check out her full PETA feature.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Last week, Swiss TV network Schweizer Fernsehen (SF) aired a report (in German) showing the results of an investigation that exposed the cruelty of the exotic-skins export trade in Indonesia. Viewers learned that lizards are transported to slaughter by being tied up and stuffed inside plastic bags (where they may remain for days), that snakes suffer in agony as they are skinned alive, and that other reptiles are bludgeoned with hammers.
Anyone who's seen our exotic-skins video narrated by Joaquin Phoenix is already familiar with the misery inflicted on reptiles who are hunted and killed for their skins, but we're thrilled that SF broadcast this report. Although Switzerland is a relatively small nation, its watch industry has been a major buyer of exotic skins, so let's hope that this shocking footage—plus the notable concern of the Swiss for animal rights—will cause a new boom in sales of cruelty-free watchbands!
Of course, watchbands aren't the only products made from exotic skins. Click here to send a message urging designer Jimmy Choo to ditch exotic skins from future collections.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Following the release of PETA Asia's undercover investigation into the exotic-skin industry, the "Grim Reapers" were out in full force in front of a Hermès store in Jakarta. The dark angels were there to draw attention to the millions of animals in Indonesia who suffer so that their skin can be stitched together to make pricey accessories for high-end retailers like Hermès.
After cringing through PETA Asia's gruesome video footage, which shows workers skinning reptiles alive and other snakes who are slowly and painfully suffocated to death, those Grim Reapers will seem more like woodland fairies.
Nike and its subsidiary, Cole Haan, have given exotic skins the boot—so have the international trendy frock shop H&M and online giant Overstock.com, thanks to PETA's efforts. Now we ask: Will you ssspeak up for snakes, lizards, and other animals by asking Hermès to follow suit?
Written by Karin Bennett
Remember PETA's 2007 undercover investigation of Rainbow World Exotics (RWE), a hellhole in Hamilton, Texas, that supplies PETCO and PetSmart stores with little hamsters, gerbils, and other critters? Before going public with that investigation, we sat down with three PETCO corporate representatives (one of whom was a vet) and showed them heartbreaking footage of a worker who was castrating rabbits and bleaching their wounds, a manager who was stomping hamsters to death, live animals who were being tossed in the trash, a cockatoo who was starving and dying, and more. We were sure that PETCO would want nothing to do with RWE after seeing the footage of all this misery. Boy, were we wrong. PETCO (as well as PetSmart) stood by RWE, refused to sever ties, and insisted that things there were not so bad. We are quite sure that the animals would disagree. Up until now, we thought that we knew how low this massive pet-store giant was capable of stooping.
It turns out that we were wrong.
On Tuesday, PETCO put out a news release saying that it had "stepped up" and was "calling all small animal lovers" to "adopt" "more than 2,000 recently rescued animals" who are being held in the company's Dallas-area stores—animals who were among the 26,000 critters who were confiscated from yet another hellhole supplier, U.S. Global Exotics (USGE), after a PETA investigation uncovered horrific conditions there. USGE was a supplier to RWE. Many of the animals seized from USGE were ultimately bound for PETCO stores.
In the news release, a PETCO rep actually proclaimed, "We were appalled by the tragedy at U.S. Global Exotics …." That's rich! But not as rich as PETCO—the company made more than $2.5 billion in 2008 by selling animals from massive mills like RWE and USGE. And according the release, it looks like the company was poised to make a pretty profit off this "adoption" deal. All the money to be made from the adoptions and the application fees for the animals was set to go to the PETCO Foundation, while all of the money from the pet supplies a new parent needs to properly care for an animal would have lined the pockets of PETCO's CEOs. The money would not have gone to the thousands of animals from USGE who need homes. No, that responsibility falls on the shoulders of PETA and other nonprofit organizations that have been working around the clock to get these animals out of harm's way and to provide them with the basic necessities of which they have been deprived.
After PETA made a few phone calls, we were able to get the animals—including anoles, geckos, toads, snakes, iguanas, hermit crabs, long-tailed grass lizards, mice, hamsters, and frogs—removed from PETCO's clutches. We were promised that they would be placed with reputable groups. PETCO told local media that it was "extremely disappointed" after this absurd plan was halted (we bet!).
These animals are now safe, but PETCO's exploitation of animals will continue as long as the corporate giant continues to buy and sell animals. So what can you do? Tell everyone you know to chime in and demand that PETCO cease all live animal sales immediately!
Written by Daphna Nachminovitch, Vice President of Cruelty Investigations
At the rate victories are rolling in, 2010 is set to be a great year for animals! In addition to a victory for greyhounds, yesterday, online mega-retailer Overstock.com announced that it will no longer sell products made from exotic skins.
Overstock.com Chair and CEO Patrick Byrne made the announcement that his company would remove all listings of items with alligator, lizard, ostrich, stingray, eel, shark, and kangaroo skin from Overstock after he viewed our newest exotic-skins footage and was prompted to make a change for his company, his customers, and animals. "I do not believe that animal skins should be treated as decorative objects," he said.
From decapitated lizards to clubbed alligators, millions of animals suffer each year in the global leather industry, even though there are tons of cruelty-free, chic alternatives to animal skins. You can send a powerful message to those who profit from this cruel industry—and convince other companies to follow in the footsteps of Overstock and H&M—by pledging to shed exotic skins from your wardrobe and by sharing our exposé on Facebook.
Written by Logan Scherer
After reading an article in the Duluth News Tribune about the goings-on at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I took my dogs, Charlie and Lucy, for a long walk. My brain needed to mull over the angle I'd take in writing this blog—my soul needed to witness happy dogs doing dog things like sniffing tree trunks and greeting strangers, canine and human alike.
The article discussed a lengthy report compiled by government inspectors after a surprise visit last month revealed a filthy facility in which depressed dogs who underwent major invasive surgical procedures were vomiting in their cages and did not receive any veterinary treatment, university personnel did not notice or treat a gerbil who was severely emaciated and struggling to breathe, and staff were inadequately trained to handle primates. The Duluth News Tribune notes, "One major finding is that in five studies, UW-Madison researchers did not show that they tried to find an alternative to painful experiments on animals."
Unfortunately, this kind of treatment happens so frequently in university labs that it is almost routine—as awful as it is to call such horrors "routine." A recent PETA undercover investigation exposed similar cruelty suffered by cats, kittens, and dogs (purchased from local animal shelters), along with monkeys, mice, rats, and other victims of experiments at the University of Utah. At the U, what appears to be incompetence, indifference, and neglect forced many of the animals to endure severe trauma, prolonged suffering, and grisly deaths. Apparently, vivisectors at UW-Madison follow a similar modus operandi in the treatment of the victims of their experiments.
Our fingers are crossed that UW-Madison receives more than a slap on the wrist for these violations. While we keep an eye on the story, take the time to give our fight against laboratory atrocities some muscle by taking action today. Then go hug your own dog and give him or her an extra treat.
H&M is an industry leader in all things stylish and cruelty-free—which is why we were thrilled to announce that, because of its recent decision to implement a permanent policy against selling any exotic skins, including those of snakes, alligators, crocodiles, lizards, ostriches, and other animals, H&M is the recipient of our Company of the Year Proggy Award. H&M's announcement to no longer sell exotic skins came after we sent a copy of our new exposé to the universally loved retailer. (Seriously, H&M is like apparel candy: affordable and deliciously fashionable, and I don't know anyone who doesn't love them.)
Many animals who are stripped of their skin for fashion are skinned alive and then tossed onto a pile where they writhe in pain until they succumb to shock or dehydration. Some animals live in agony for up to four days after they lose their flesh. H&M's new policy sends the message that kindness is always chic. Follow this company's lead: Take our pledge and declare that the only skin you'll ever wear is your own.
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.