Giant ‘Ostrich’ to Protest Grand Opening of Prada Flagship Store

PETA Will Reveal How Birds Are Hit, Shocked, Killed, Plucked, and Skinned for Store’s Ostrich-Leather Bags and Couches

For Immediate Release:
March 10, 2016

Contact:
Lakisha Ridley 202-483-7382

A unique guest will attend the grand opening of Prada’s Vancouver flagship store: a life-size “ostrich,” accompanied by PETA members who will rally against the store’s ostrich-leather merchandise and decor.

When:             Friday, March 11, 12 p.m.

Where:           Prada, south corner of Alberni and Thurlow streets, Vancouver

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—recently released the first-ever exposé of the highly secretive industrial ostrich-slaughter industry, in which young ostriches are kept in barren dirt feedlots until they are trucked to slaughterhouses. There, the 1-year-old ostriches are turned upside down in a stunner, are ejected to have their throats slit, and have their feathers plucked out, creating the bumpy-textured skin used in Prada’s handbags and store sofas.

“Every ostrich-leather bag and sofa in Prada’s stores means that smart, sensitive, and curious young birds were shocked, slaughtered, plucked, and skinned,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on shoppers to steer clear of Prada’s pockmarked purses and choose instead from the many stylish cruelty-free accessories available from kinder retailers.”

Broadcast-quality video footage from PETA’s investigation is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.