PETA’s Santas to Ask Phoenix Shoppers to Cross Skins Off Their Shopping Lists
St. Nicks Want Everyone to Know What Happens to Animals Used for Fur, Leather, and Wool
For Immediate Release:
December 20, 2013
Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382
Dressed like Santa Claus, PETA members will greet shoppers at a busy downtown Phoenix intersection on Monday and hand out candy canes with tags reading, “Be Sweet to Animals: Don’t Buy Fur, Leather, or Wool.” The jolly St. Nicks’ point? That with all the great natural and synthetic fashions available, it’s not necessary to skin, shear, or mutilate animals to be in style.
When: Monday, December 23, 12 noon
Where: Intersection of E. Washington Street and S. Central Avenue, Phoenix
“Shoppers can find faux fur, pleather, and other stylish alternatives to animal skins everywhere, from Santa Claus Lane to 34th Street,” says PETA “Santa” Leila Sleiman. “We’re asking people to give everyone—including animals—a reason to celebrate this holiday season.”
Animals slated to be killed for fur are electrocuted or poisoned or have their necks broken. A video from PETA Asia’s recent investigation of the angora industry in China shows workers tearing chunks of fur from rabbits’ skin as the animals scream in pain. Cows destined to be killed for their skin endure painful mutilations and physical abuse on factory farms and cruel treatment during transport and slaughter. Snakes are pumped full of water so that workers can more easily cut off their skin while the animals are still alive. And sheep in Australia—the largest source of merino wool—have large chunks of skin and flesh cut from their backsides without being given any painkillers. Tim Gunn narrates a blistering indictment of the skins industry in this PETA video exposé.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
