LVMH Must Drop Fur and Exotic Skins Ahead of 2024 Olympic Games

LVMH Must Drop Fur and Exotic Skins Ahead of 2024 Olympic Games – Here’s Why

Posted by Holly de Gavre on August 23, 2022 | Permalink

In response to reports that LVMH – owner of Louis Vuitton and Fendi – is set to be an official sponsor of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, PETA sent a letter to International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach. We are urging him to greenlight LVMH’s sponsorship only if the fashion company agrees to stop selling fur and exotic skins, as the production of those items is not only horrifically cruel to animals but also a known pandemic risk.

Public Health Hazard

Fur farms in multiple countries, including Denmark, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the US, saw outbreaks of COVID-19 among animals and workers, and a dangerous mutation of the virus spread from minks to humans.

Experts have now warned that the unsanitary and crowded conditions on farms and at slaughterhouses in the exotic-skins supply chain are a perfect breeding ground for viruses such as the one that caused the COVID-19 pandemic, which severely impacted the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

LVMH has so far failed to act responsibly and continues to risk the public’s health with its mink coats and python bags. We all know the enormous toll COVID-19 took on lives around the globe, so it would be unconscionable for the next Olympic Games to be sponsored by a company that supports these dangerous industries.

Investigations Reveal the Cruelty Behind Exotic Skins and Fur

A PETA Asia investigation into two Indonesian slaughterhouses that supply LVMH showed workers striking pythons repeatedly on the head then suspending them in the air and forcing hoses down their throats to inflate them with water, making it easier to remove their skin.

Workers disembowelled the snakes while they were likely still conscious.

PETA Asia has also documented that rabbits were bludgeoned and chinchillas electrocuted for their fur, while minks and sables were driven to insanity by the extreme confinement they experience in the fur trade.

Compassion Is In – Exotic Skins and Fur Are Out

Torturing animals for handbags or coats is archaic and unacceptable – especially when high-end vegan options are available. Fashion should be fun, not fatal, and more and more designers, including Burberry, Calvin Klein, Chanel, and Victoria Beckham, are banning fur and exotic skins from their collections.