LEATHER

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

September 25, 2010

The Truth About Leather: Wearing Cruelty

Tell all your friends.

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Just like fur, in order to get leather, an animal must first be killed and slaughtered. Unfortunately, many conscientious individuals are misled into believing leather is simply a "by-product" of the meat industry and there is no harm in buying it.

Sadly, this is not the case.

It is estimated that leather makes up half of all profits of slaughterhouses that process cattle. Leather is a not a by-product, it is a co-product.

Because the profit margin is rather small on the sale of animal flesh (relatively speaking), most cattle exploiting companies are dependent upon the sale of hides to remain in business.

Many of us who care about the wellbeing of animals don't eat meat because we don't want to put money in the pockets of people who kill animals for profit, yet many of us still support these horrific industries by buying leather.

Most leather comes from the skin of animals raised for meat, but virtually all dairy cows meet the same end, as well, when their milk production slows down and they are no longer seen as profitable to keep.

Calfskin suede is exactly what it sounds like. This is the skin of mostly young male dairy calves. These poor calves have been taken from their mothers within days of being born and confined to tiny wooden boxes, where they're raised to be veal. To buy calfskin suede supports the terrible treatment of veal calves, the inherent abuse of dairy farming, and the entire animal exploiting meat industry.

A growing percentage of leather on the market in the US is imported from India and China. And in China, many animal welfare laws do not exist. And if they do exist, they are simply not enforced, leaving millions of animals to suffer horrible deaths so their skin may be turned into a cheap pair of shoes.

In many states of India it is actually illegal to slaughter cows because Hindus honor them as sacred beings. Cattle purchasers will buy impoverished Hindu families' cows from them with the promises that their beloved cows will be taken care of. But instead they death march them to Bangladesh, Pakistan or an Indian state where cow slaughter is permitted.

For cows who have been treated as the most honored member of a family, to all of a sudden be forced to walk potentially hundreds of miles, is more than most can bear. As cows falter and fall, or are too sick to walk, the wranglers will rub hot chili powder in their eyes or break the bones in their tails to motivate them to keep going.

For those who make the distance to the slaughterhouse, they will have their throats slit while fully conscious.

The thought of an animal enduring such a nightmare so someone can have -- what they perceive as -- a fashionable bag, jacket, pair of shoes or furniture covering, is too much for me.

When comparing the treatment of animals on fur farms to that of animals slaughtered for meat and leather, it is shocking that we don't all do more to boycott this cruel and needless industry.

There are many synthetic alternatives to virtually every single leather product on the market. Some shopping resources:

•www.veganstore.com
•www.veganessentials.com
•www.mooshoes.com

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

October 1st, 2010

What’s Wrong with Leather?

After pigs and cows have suffered from the crowding, confinement, mutilations, stressful transport, and frightening slaughter at the hands of the meat and dairy industries, their skins are made into shoes, boots, belts, gloves, and furniture covers. Skin accounts for more than 55 percent of the total byproduct value of cattle. Horses, sheep, lambs, and goats are also slaughtered for their meat, as well as for their hides. Many people believe that leather is just a byproduct of the meat industry and that animals are not killed solely for their skin, but this is not the case. Much of the leather in athletic shoes, for example, comes from kangaroos, who are killed for nothing more than their skin.
Animals in other countries also suffer for leather sold in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and Europe. India is a major leather supplier to the world market. While being herded to slaughter in India, cows have hot chili peppers and tobacco rubbed into their eyes, and their tail bones are painfully twisted and broken in order to make the cows stand up and keep moving. Many of the Indian animals used for leather are so sick and injured by the time they arrive at the slaughterhouse that they must be dragged inside.
Leather production is hazardous to the environment. Toxins that are emitted from leather tanneries endanger human and ecological health by polluting regional waterways with mineral salts, formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, oils, dyes, salt, lime sludge, sulfides, and acids. Residents of tannery towns have a greater-than-average chance of developing leukemia, and more than half of all tannery workers develop testicular cancer.
The leather industry uses an enormous amount of energy. Huge amounts of fossil fuels are consumed in raising, transporting, and killing the animals that are skinned for leather. Synthetics such as fleece and vinyl actually require fewer petroleum products to produce.
Alternatives to Leather…
Most leather items have obvious and readily available alternatives. Most cars are available without leather interiors, though BMW and Mercedes are the only luxury cars to offer non-leather interiors on all of their models. Pleather (fake leather) jackets are available, or go with cotton hoodies, or Gore-Tex or fleece jackets. Nylon, canvas, vinyl, or pleather can replace leather in bags and briefcases. Most running shoes and many cross-trainers are all-synthetic. Look for “all man-made materials” on the tag. Some shoes also have a sticker on the insole with symbols. Diamonds and checkerboard shapes mean plastic and cloth, respectively. If you see a drawing that looks like a stretched animal hide, the shoes contain leather. Brands such as Merrell, Vasque, and New Balance, to name a few, make very stylish non-leather athletic and hiking shoes – available at stores such as REI and other outdoor clothing stores. Circa, ES, Etnies, Vans, Osiris, Fallen, and Ipath all make non-leather skate shoes, available at Zumiez and other skate shops [check labels]. Last we checked all Jamie Thomas skate shoes were vegan. Non-leather dress shoes can often be found at PayLess Shoes and Baker’s, or on the web. Birkenstock, Teva, and others make non-leather sandals. Converse, Vans, and others make non-leather canvas shoes as well.
For a list of non-leather products, visit: http://www.vrg.org/nutshell/leather.htm
What about Down?
Down is the soft feathers of ducks and geese. Most birds used for down live on factory farms and must endure rough handling throughout their lives, especially when they have their feathers ripped from their chests during pluckings. A goose may live through four or five pluckings before he or she is slaughtered. When it becomes more expensive to keep the animals than their feathers are worth, the animals are killed.
Synthetic alternatives to down are cheaper and perform better at blocking the cold than feathers. When wet, down becomes waterlogged and fails to insulate and remain comfortable. Make sure to avoid down when buying jackets, comforters, sleeping bags, and pillows. Alternatives are readily available.
What about Silk?
Silkworms make their cocoons from a shiny fiber that they produce. To obtain silk, the worms are boiled or steamed alive by the thousands. Alternatives include rayon and nylon.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

December 1st, 2010

Pledge to Go Leather-Free With 'Bigg Boss' Guest Pamela Anderson

If there's one thing that Bigg Boss guest Pamela Anderson loathes, it's cruelty to animals. That's why Anderson has fired off a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the government to help cattle who are used in the leather industry.

Anderson took a graphic and unflinching look at India's gruesome leather trade in a hard-hitting PETA US video. In her letter to the Prime Minister, Anderson points out that despite PETA US' offers of tangible help to both the government and the Indian leather industry, conditions for animals used in India's leather trade still remain horrendous. In the video footage, cattle are tied together with ropes through their noses and beaten mercilessly in forced "death marches" over hundreds of miles. During the marches, cattle collapse from hunger, exhaustion, injury and despair. Handlers force the cattle to continue by breaking the animals' tails at each joint (the human equivalent of having a finger broken) and by rubbing tobacco, chilli peppers and salt into the animals' eyes. The cattle are never offered food or even a drop of water.

Illegally crammed into severely crowded trucks, many cattle, including mothers and calves, are trampled or gored during the long journey to slaughter. By the time they arrive, some of the animals are already dead. Many others are so sick and injured that they must be dragged inside, where workers cut the animals' throats by sawing back and forth with dull knives. Completely conscious animals are left to slowly bleed to death. Some have their legs hacked off while they're still conscious or suffer the agony of being skinned alive. You can help Pamela Anderson put a stop to this cruelty by signing our pledge today that the only skin you are in is your own. Then forward the video to your friends.

Sign the Pledge I want to tell the world that I will not ever wear the skin of another animal. I refuse to contribute to the Indian leather trade. By signing this pledge, I am saying that the only skin I am in is my own.

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

june 1t 2013 petition

Against fur and leather
target: Alibaba factory and creation's Au Renard
The trade of fur and leather is a huge slaughter of million of animals per years !

Humans can wear others clothes, fur isn't essential. We can say " NO " to this barbarity. Alibaba factory and creations's Au Renard are factories where they " product " a lot fur and leather so they killed millions of animals, it have the right to live and to keep its skins !you have the power to create change

Admin Nombre de messages : 25268 Date d'inscription : 17/05/2007

Where does the leather for purses, shoes, and belts come from?
Many of us may think that we know the answer but don't know what animal the skin was taken from — or how that animal suffered.
The truth is quite disturbing. Undercover investigators have provided PETA with horrifying photographs of dogs in Thailand as they were being slaughtered so that their skins could be tanned for leather. The photographs show terrified dogs sitting in crowded cages, awaiting their own violent death as other dogs are killed right in front of them. The skins ripped off their bodies will join those of other animals at leather auctions or go to private dealers to be sold by wholesalers throughout Asia who feed the global leather trade. Will they end up as a leather belt or a furry cat toy in a store near you?
PETA's eye-opening campaigns are helping people all around the world to see that the only individuals who should wear animal skins are the animals themselves! Please send a gift today to support PETA's work to stop the skins trade and to stop animals from being killed for clothing and other products.
Many believe that leather comes from cattle and calves in the U.S., a "coproduct" of the hideous and well-documented abuses in the meat industry. But the skins used in some leather products come from animals some would never suspect could have been slaughtered to manufacture a belt, a pair of gloves, or a leather trinket. From zebras and kangaroos to snakes and even dogs, the majority of the skin sold to the U.S. comes from developing countries throughout Asia.
PETA is leading the fight to save animals' skins—from old Indian bullocks whose skin is worth far more than their meager flesh to dogs strung up in the jungles of Thailand. Will you please support our campaigns for these animals with a special gift right now?
There's no justification for sentencing an animal to even a moment's suffering for a pair of shoes or a wallet. And with your help, we will work to ensure that everyone connected to the bloody skins trade — from the wholesalers who peddle the skins of abused animals to the designers who are still buying and promoting fashion products made from skins — is aware of the terrible harm inflicted on animals for leather goods.
No organization works as hard to stop animals from being killed for their skins as PETA does. Your online gift today will give us the support that we must have to help millions of individual animal victims of the violent skins trade.
We have an immense task on our hands, but together, we can reduce the cruelty and abuse of animals.
Thank you for your compassion and commitment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZOeOtaWyIg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdnZBJjqWe4

» leather animals mistreated skined alive tortured dont buy