PHOTOS: PETA Members in a Sea of ‘Blood’ Descend on Hermès in NYC
Horrifying new video footage released by Kindness Project shows crocodiles on farms owned by Hermès and its suppliers confined to concrete pens, electrocuted, stabbed, shot, and mutilated with screwdrivers—some while still conscious. In response, PETA supporters clutching “bloody” designer bags and carrying posters bearing shocking images of crocodiles pulled from Kindness Project’s video descended on the Hermès flagship store in New York City to pressure the company to ban exotic skins.
PETA’s demonstration was part of a massive international campaign by animal rights organizations featuring protests around the world—including in Australia, England, France, Germany, and Spain—and including a global digital protest using the hashtag #DropCroc.
The exotic-skins industry is a bloody and cruel business. Hermès must stop factory farming animals and join Chanel, Jil Sander, and the many other designers turning away from exotic-animal skins in favor of innovative, ethical, and sustainable materials for which no one has to endure horrible living conditions and a violent death.
PETA’s Work to Urge Hermès to Ban Exotic Skins
In order to pressure executives from the inside, PETA became a Hermès shareholder in 2015 after exposing cruelty at reptile farms in Texas and Zimbabwe that supplied a Hermès-owned tannery. In 2016, a PETA exposé revealed the suffering of young ostriches at an exclusive ostrich-leather supplier to Hermès.
Take Action for Animals Now
We won’t let up until the company makes the conscientious decision to ban all exotic skins. You can support our efforts by calling on it do just that: