Fw: Is a pair of shoes worth the life of an animal?

[Guest guest]

--- On Thu, 5/3/09, PETA Europe <newsmanager wrote:

 

 

PETA Europe <newsmanager

Is a pair of shoes worth the life of an animal?

jbfindia

Thursday, 5 March, 2009, 5:47 PM

 

 

Dear Dr.Sashanka ,

 

Lots of people who would never dream of wearing fur don't think about the

enormous cruelty that goes into every leather jacket, bag, belt or pair of

shoes. But every leather item was also once the skin of an animal who was

violently killed as part of the international skins trade.

 

 Don't let the suffering of these and other animals go unnoticed – please

make a generous donation to PETA today to help put this issue on the map and

reduce suffering.

 

Believe it or not, Indian cows are among the animals abused for their skins. I

personally followed the cattle trail in the south of India – one of the

world's top leather exporters – where I witnessed some of the saddest scenes

imaginable. On our website, you can view the video footage taken on that

gruelling trip. I urge you to watch the video now and see for yourself the

terrible cruelty which I saw during my investigation.

 

It shows frail cows who are forced to walk miles in the heat and dust without a

drop of water or any food. When the exhausted cows become too weak to stand, hot

chilli peppers are rubbed into their eyes. Their tails are broken, segment by

segment, to force them to move again out of sheer pain. Later, the animals are

piled into trucks, the weak trampled by those still able to stand up, and calves

and sick cows are often crushed to death or gouged by the long horns of the

other animals. When the survivors arrive at the slaughterhouse confused,

exhausted and terrified, they are killed in full view of each other –

sometimes by children armed with dull knives – and are stripped of their skin,

often while they are still conscious.

 

Animal protection laws are rarely enforced, and police and border guard

corruption is rampant, so these sensitive animals – theoretically held sacred

in India – are treated without mercy or compassion.

 

Please help stop the suffering of these and other vulnerable animals by donating

to PETA's campaign today. 

 

Because so much leather is imported to British shops from India and China –

where conditions are at least as appalling – we must take responsibility for

reforming this abhorrent industry. That's why PETA and our affiliates around the

world are working hard to end their suffering as well as to draw attention to

alternatives to wearing leather! Your online donation today will help us do just

that – and reach across borders to wherever animals are being harmed.

 

Pressure from PETA affiliates has already convinced international fashion

retailers and designers, including Gap, Gucci, Nike, Reebok, Adidas and Kenneth

Cole, to stop using Indian and Chinese leather.

 

Leading names in the fashion industry are now speaking out, thanks to the

efforts of PETA and its affiliates. The very kind Tim Gunn, the chief creative

officer for the international fashion house Liz Claiborne Inc. and presenter of

TV's Project Catwalk, recently teamed up with PETA US to create a new video

aimed at showing clothing designers exactly how animals are cruelly killed for

their skin, wool or fur. The video, called " Fashion Victims " , shows horrific

footage of animals who have large chunks of skin and flesh cut from their rumps

without anything to dull the pain … others have their throats cut and the skin

torn from their bodies whilst they are still conscious … still others are

caught in steel traps and left to drown while desperately struggling to break

free … and worse, if you can possibly imagine it. All for the sake of greed

and a " look " .

 

Just days after receiving the video from Tim Gunn, Donna Karan released a

statement saying that her autumn collection will be fur-free and that she has

" no plans " to use fur in the future. A victory!

 

We're also persuading shoppers to buy cruelty-free. Through our online advocacy

campaigns, PETA and our affiliates reach millions of people every month (more

than all other animal rights organisations in the world combined) with our

powerful message about the misery and death that goes into every leather jacket,

handbag and pair of boots.

 

We need your help to achieve relief for India's cows – as well as all other

animals there, in China and elsewhere – who suffer terribly for the theft of

their skin, wool and fur. Please help PETA shake up the international trade in

skins and end other animal abuse by donating online now. Thank you for helping

our work today.

 

Kind regards,

 

 

Ingrid E Newkirk

Founder

 

PS Cows are gentle, sensitive individuals, but there is nothing gentle or

sensitive about the way they are treated by the leather industry. We are their

hope. Please give as generously as you possibly can to PETA today. Your donation

will help us reduce their use and abuse – and stop the suffering of other

animals destined to become a pair of shoes, a bag, belt, seat cover or jacket.