“Bad Girls” Ask Clothes Shoppers to Be “Good” to Animals

Dressed in sexy “sinthetic” outfits and carrying signs reading, “Latex—In, Leather—Out,” demonstrators from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are “exposing” folks around the country to the gruesome facts about how animals suffer to be made into leather coats, pants, and shoes.

Much of the leather sold in the U.S. comes from overseas, where cows endure violent beatings and suffer wounds and broken bones from extreme overcrowding in transport trucks and where dog skin is marked “cowhide” for Western export purposes. In the U.S., a recent investigation into one of the nation’s largest slaughterhouses, located in Seattle, showed cows being trampled, dragged, jabbed in the head and mouth with electric prods, and dismembered, all while fully conscious.

The scantily clad protesters plan to show sophisticated consumers that real beauty is far more than skin deep. “By showing some of our skin, we hope to save animals’ skins,” says “dominatrix” Lisa Franzetta. “With today’s stylish and comfortable synthetics and faux leather, it’s easy to ‘moo-ve’ away from leather and leave the hides behind.”