Bodypainted ‘Reptiles’ to Protest Louis Vuitton’s ‘Killer’ Exotic-Skin Bags

PETA’s Naked ‘Crocodiles’ Will Highlight Animals’ Hideous Lives and Torturous Deaths

For Immediate Release:
May 23, 2017

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

What:    Wearing little more than green and brown bodypaint, two “bloody” PETA “crocodiles” will hang out of an oversized purse that proclaims, “Louis Vuitton: A Look That Kills,” outside the Louis Vuitton store in Palm Desert on Wednesday. The demonstration takes aim at the retailer’s month-long campaign promoting exotic-skin bags.

When:    Wednesday, May 24, 12 noon

Where:    Louis Vuitton, The Gardens on El Paseo, 73545 El Paseo, Level 1, Palm Desert

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—will direct shoppers to a PETA video exposé of crocodile farms in Vietnam, including two that say that they have supplied skins to a tannery owned by Louis Vuitton’s parent company, LVMH. The video footage reveals that on these farms, thousands of reptiles lie motionless in tiny, concrete cells, some narrower than the length of their bodies. At another farm, workers can be seen hacking into thrashing crocodiles’ necks and ramming metal rods down their spines as blood pours from the wounds.

“Every crocodile-skin handbag represents the hideously gruesome death of a sensitive animal,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on shoppers to keep reptiles’ blood off their hands by choosing vegan clothing and accessories.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.