Beauty Often Blinds People to Cruelty

Very few people are aware of the extreme cruelty that animals endure to be turned into exotic-skin products. Some are even skinned alive during the manufacturing of “luxury” leather goods.

Crocodiles in Thailand are being farmed in the most inhumane of conditions. They are crammed into putrid tanks and ponds before being subjected to the cruellest of slaughter practices – being shot or hammered to shatter their spines and cause paralysis. Some are skinned alive. And an average handbag requires the slaughter of not one but four crocodiles. The blood, in demand for its purported medicinal properties, is drawn from the animals while the meat and hide are processed. Thailand also has the largest crocodile farming industry in the world, in which about 700,000 are raised annually. None are expected to survive.

A snake’s body being cut open with scissors before being skinned

Snakes suffer no less. Every year, at least 440,000 pythons are caught in the jungles of Southeast Asia, where some are hung, decapitated, and then skinned. Some have their jaws forced open, a hose inserted into their body cavity, and then are pumped full of water so that their skin becomes easier to remove. The skin is then ripped from the animals’ bodies, sometimes while they’re still alive. It’s a cold-hearted end for these remarkable cold-blooded animals.

Both crocodile and snake skins are then shipped to tanneries for treatment and exported. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can play an important role in alleviating animals’ suffering by raising awareness of what’s going on. Pledge today never to wear or purchase exotic skins again.