Wrongdoers, watch out—wearing animals' skins and fur is a total (and literal) rip-off, but PETA, as always, is on the case! October has been declared Crime Prevention Month by the National Crime Prevention Council, and we're glad to do our part here at The PETA Files—after all, it's the least any animal advocate could do for a group whose symbol is a dog.

What happens to animals who are killed for their skins may not be illegal in many places (yet), but it's a flagrant violation of their rights. Confined to cages, caught in steel-jaw traps, subjected to cruel abuses, nailed to trees, suffocated, electrocuted, gassed, poisoned, bludgeoned, hanged, and often skinned alive—together, it's a crime against common decency.

PETA (and Pals) on Patrol

So PETA's walking the beat and throwing the book at offenders. The fabulous PETA "fashion police"—gotta love a cop in pleather!—hit the city streets to hand out tickets for leathery larceny and felony fur-flaunting. They've even braved that most hostile of precincts, New York Fashion Week, where they issued a citation to the cruelest of all fur hags, Vogue's Anna Wintour, proving that they never miss the meaner misdemeanors.

Some of PETA's famous friends are taking on crime-busting duties, too. Pink and Ricky Gervais use their voices to call out the skin trade for what it really is—theft—in PETA's attention-getting "Stolen for Fashion" video, while Tim Gunn reminds everyone that these aren't victimless crimes. Then there's the animals' own wonder woman, Pamela Anderson, who gets the message across that "cruelty doesn't fly" (with a little help from Steve-O, Andy Dick, and Carol Leifer) as only she can:

What You Can Do

Keep on the straight and narrow—sign PETA's pledge that you'll shed everyone's skin but your own!

One of the things that I like most about Michelle Obama (besides her penchant for home-grown veggies and her rockin' biceps) is her sense of style. A fashion icon who has been compared to Jackie O, Michelle O is notably fur-free.

In the hopes of persuading the FLOTUS to banish all skins from her closet, PETA sent her a stylish faux-leather jacket from asos.com.

In a letter accompanying the jacket, we explained how cows raised for their flesh and skin endure branding, dehorning, castration, and tail-docking, all without painkillers. At the slaughterhouse, many are improperly stunned, meaning that they are skinned and dismembered while still conscious.  

I look forward to seeing how great the perennially polished patriot looks in her cruelty-free coat and the example that she'll set for stylish and conscientious American women.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Conquest Vehicles' super-armored luxury SUV, the Knight XV, which retails for just less than $500,000, is now available with an interior made from any human-made material you can dream up, at no extra cost. It just goes to show: There are vegan versions of everything under the sun—from spare ribs to stilettos to SUVs.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

If you fashion junkies out there can't wait until the debut of Chrissie Hynde's new clothing line, you can get your fix on September 10, when the Kardashian family unveils its new K-Dash line at QVC's Fashion's Night Out event. The line, designed by Tommy Hilfiger's sister Ginny, will feature faux fur and pleather, as modeled by Kim Kardashian on People.com.

Of course, the paucity of pelts in the K-Dash line should come as no surprise after Khloe wore, ahem, no clothing line at all in this sexy ad for PETA:

We've sent a thank you to the K-ladies and to QVC (which has a no-fur policy). Need a reminder of why faux is the only way to go? This ought to do it.

Written by Alisa Mullins

I'm a handbag addict, but my cravings are always easily met thanks to a seemingly endless assortment of skins-free styles. Naturally, when I saw the Kerin handbag that's this week's "Win-It" Wednesday prize, I needed it, stat. Feast your eyes:

My birthday's coming up, so I'll have to drop some not-so-subtle hints if I want to add this leather-free looker to my collection (fingers crossed), but you don't have to be a June baby to score it. All you have to do is come up with a clever caption for this photo.

sunfox / CC by 2.0

Is that certain someone giving kisses to a vegan fashionista—or blowing a raspberry to a fashion offender dressed in leather? Either way, we've got one bag to give to the respondent who delivers the cleverest caption. Please don't be chintzy with your brilliance—really bowl us over!

The contest ends on July 7, 2010, and we'll pick the winner on July 9, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Written by Karin Bennett

Oscar-nominated and Golden Globe– and Grammy-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix is talented, compassionate, and heart-achingly handsome. (I assure you, it's a harmless crush.)

Joaquin, who is vhegan—right down to his pleather gladiators—has narrated our exotic-skins video in the hope of inspiring both shoe aficionados and luxe footwear designers to shun exotic skins, à la Nike, Cole Haan, H&M, and Overstock.com.

He's also penned letters to Jimmy Choo and Christian Louboutin in which he points out that many snakes, alligators, lizards, and crocodiles are skinned alive by people who believe that the practice makes leather more supple. Snakes can remain alive for up to four days after they are skinned.

There are enough skin-free styles to inspire any shoe fanatic and handbag addict to give skins the boot. I personally can't get enough of the offerings at MooShoes. How do you satisfy your need for skin-free kicks?

Written by Karin Bennett

Desert temperatures rose even higher as PETA's hot "cops" patrolled the Las Vegas strip, where they educated tourists about how animals suffer when they are killed and skinned to become boots, belts, and bags.

Honeymooners, bachelor partygoers, and even some casino employees lined up to talk to and pose for photos with our "fashion police," who were armed with information about alternatives to fur, leather, and exotic skins.

Watch out, fashion felons. PETA's peace officers are on patrol.

After one construction worker promised the "cops" he would give pleather boots a try, they let him go with a warning—to stay away from animal skins in the future.

"Holy pleather, Batman!"

Next stop—KOMP's Rock & Roll Morning Show to give listeners the straight story on synthetics.

Written by Karin Bennett

PETA's sexy "fashion police" are on patrol again. Last week, they took their beat to the street - in New Haven and Providence, handing out citations to leather-wearers for "violating common decency." For some reason, every "offender" loved being "detained." In fact, this is pretty much what happened every time:

Fashion Cop: No more leather, promise?Passerby, hanging head in shame: OK.

Of course, looking at photos of our cops, I have to say—they look like they mean business! I wouldn't want to argue with them, either.

And, if you're looking for some pleather boots as awesome as those (I know I am!), we have a few cruelty-free suggestions for your consideration.

Written by Amanda Schinke

As if there weren't already enough terror attached to the loathsome leather trade, the notoriously cruel Indian leather industry has now been linked to Islamic terrorists groups. According to a recent article in The Times of India, the illegal cattle-smuggling trade, an integral part of the leather supply chain, has been funding terrorism in India. For years now, money made in this thriving racket has reportedly been funneled to various terrorists, including one of the men convicted of killing American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002.

It's pretty ironic that a country in which cows are considered sacred is one of the largest leather manufacturers in the world. In fact, Indian law makes it illegal to export cows. To get around this, traffickers force cattle to march hundreds of miles across the country. Marched for days without food or water, cows often collapse from exhaustion or despair, To keep them moving, workers smear the cows' eyes with chili peppers and tobacco and break the cows' tails. By the time the cows are crammed into illegal transport trucks and smuggled across the India-Bangladesh border, many are so sick and injured that they have to be dragged into the slaughterhouse—where their throats are slit while they are still alive.

I say we fight the war on terror by buying pleather and signing this petition to the Ambassador of India.

Written by Amy Elizabeth