Naked PETA Beauty Asks Vancouver Shoppers to Leave Snakes in the Jungle

Group Says Animals Are Bludgeoned, Skinned Alive to Make Exotic Leather Products

For Immediate Release:
June 23, 2010

Contact:
Ashley Gonzalez 757-622-7382

Vancouver, British Columbia -- With her naked body painted like snakeskin under a banner that reads, "Exotic Skins Belong in the Jungle--Not on Your Feet," a PETA member will lead a protest on Thursday urging Vancouver shoppers to scratch exotic-animal skins off their shopping lists. PETA wants shoppers to know that exotic animals are skinned alive, beaten to death, or killed for their skins in other cruel ways.

When:   Thursday, June 24, 12 noon 

Where:  Southeast corner of Burrard and Robson streets, Vancouver

Although most of the leather sold in the U.S. comes from cows, other species--including snakes, alligators, and kangaroos--are hunted and killed specifically for their skins. Snakes are commonly nailed to trees or posts and skinned alive. Their mutilated bodies are discarded, and it sometimes takes hours for the snakes to die. Alligators are often crammed into tiny spaces on factory farms and are beaten to death with hammers or axes. According to the Australian government code for hunting kangaroos, orphaned babies and wounded adults are to be decapitated or hit sharply on the head.

"I'll gladly bare some of my skin if it will help save animals' skins," says PETA member Amber TeGantvoort. "We're asking Vancouver residents to take a bite out of cruelty by giving snakeskin and other types of exotic leather the boot."

 For more information, please visit PETA.org.