Ed Gein Returns to Wisconsin on ‘Monstrous’ PETA Billboard Aimed at Leather Wearers

For Immediate Release:
October 27, 2025

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

In time for Halloween—and on the heels of the hit Netflix show Monster: The Ed Gein Story—PETA plans to erect a macabre message reminding local shoppers that wearing leather made from the skin of cows is just as grisly and cruel as the “Butcher of Plainfield’s” practice of making clothing, accessories, and furniture out of human skin. PETA’s gruesome graphic—which will loom over the town where Gein committed most of his crimes—points out that leather is also someone’s skin, and prompts passersby to opt for fashionable, cruelty-free vegan materials instead.

“People are horrified by Ed Gein’s crimes, yet some don’t think twice about tossing on a belt or shoes made of skin peeled from a terrified cow who died violently,” says PETA Vice President Danielle Katz. “PETA urges everyone to get animals’ body parts out of their closets and wear vegan, because leather is murder no matter which species it comes from.”

Cows have friends and mourn when a loved one dies, but those killed for leather are confined in filthy sheds and may be skinned and dismembered while still conscious.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.