Auction of Original Birkin Bag Prompts PETA U.K. Plea to Owner: Donate Proceeds to Wildlife Charity

For Immediate Release:
July 9, 2025

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Ahead of tomorrow’s auction of the original Hermès Birkin bag, PETA U.K. has sent a letter to its current owner asking Catherine Benier to donate the proceeds from the auction—which could be in excess of $580,000—to wildlife charities to make up for at least some of the harm caused to animals by the production of Birkin bags.

PETA points out that three crocodiles are killed to make a single Birkin bag, and that countless animals—including cows, calves, goats, lizards, alligators, ostriches, elephants, and many others—have suffered and died for the one million or more Birkin bags that Hermès is estimated to have produced over the past 40 years.

“Cruelly slaughtering millions of animals just to make overpriced purses is a barbaric practice that should be relegated to the history books,” says PETA Vice President for Europe Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA U.K. urges Catherine Benier to donate whatever absurd price her Birkin fetches to the wildlife charities of her choice in recognition of the agony Hermès has caused for decades.”

Undercover investigations have revealed crocodiles crowded in cramped enclosures then isolated in small, filthy cages before being dragged, mutilated, and stabbed with a screwdriver. The practice is so cruel that Jane Birkin herself has asked Hermès to remove her name from the bag. PETA entities have also documented how workers in the fashion industry chop off conscious lizards’ heads with machetes, inflate snakes with air, and electrically stun ostriches before slitting their throats in full view of their terrified flockmates.

PETA notes that many other major designers—such as Chanel, Balenciaga, Burberry, Mulberry, Victoria Beckham, Diane von Furstenberg, and Vivienne Westwood—have banned the use of the skin of reptiles or other wildlife from their collections.

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.