Ask Hermès to Stop Supporting the Killing of Animals for Cold-Blooded Vanity
High-end fashion house Hermès continues to use exotic-animal skins in its designs, despite the cruelty and suffering that alligators, crocodiles, lizards, and snakes must endure in order for the company to produce a single shoe or bag.
Millions of reptiles are slaughtered each year so that their skins can be turned into accessories. Animals used for their skins are often skinned alive or bludgeoned to death with blunt objects. Animal welfare is simply not a consideration for those who hunt, poach, and factory farm these animals. In our recently released investigation, one netted snake is shown wounded so deeply that his bones are visible where the skin had been scraped away.
The footage also shows lizards gasping for breath after their necks have been cut open, and their heads are seen nearly detached from their bodies as blood pours from the animals' throats. Many lizards are still conscious even as their tails are cut off and their skin is torn off their bodies.
Snakes are decapitated and tossed aside, but they often remain alive for hours. Others have skewers shoved up their noses in order to paralyze them. To separate the animals' skins from their organs, workers pump them full of water while they are still conscious and then tear the skin from the living animals' bodies. Animals are often killed in full view of other animals, causing even more distress to those who are about to die.
Nike, H&M, and Overstock.com have already agreed not to sell exotic-animal skins. With so many stylish and cruelty-free alternatives available, such as fake snake and mock croc, there's no excuse for using animal skins.
Please take a moment to tell Hermès that if the company really wants to be a leader in the fashion industry, it should stop supporting the killing of animals for cold-blooded vanity.
