19 Photos That Tell a Sickening Story About the Global Leather Industry

A new exposé of cattle ranches in Brazil that supply JBS SA – the largest leather processor in the world – shows how cows and bulls are abused before being killed so that their skins can be used to line car interiors.

Dragged From Their Mothers

A calf is lassoed and pulled away from her mother, who chases after her.

A worker forces her to the ground.

He keeps her restrained by twisting her neck and throwing his weight on her.

Faces Branded With Hot Irons

To show ownership of the calves, workers on ranches that supply cattle to JBS used hot irons to brand them on the face – without any pain relief and counter to the minimum animal-welfare recommendations by the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture. Older cattle were also forced into chutes, where they panicked and kicked as workers branded them on the back.

Workers prepare hot irons to brand the cows.

A worker pins down a cow to brand her on the face with a hot iron.

Workers brand calves on the face with hot irons and no pain relief.

A worker steps on a calf’s face to keep her still while branding her.

This calf panics and becomes trapped inside a narrow chute after trying to turn around.

Workers trap this cow in a chute and brand her on the back with a hot iron and no pain relief.

Panic, Beatings and Bloody Wounds

On the ranches, cows were forced into tight chutes for handling. The intense crowding led cows to panic and trample each other. Workers then kicked them and yanked them by their ears and tails. In desperation, some cattle tried to jump fences to escape. The eyewitness also saw a calf with a severe maggot infestation, a cow with a swollen head and cows with open, bloody wounds.

A cow tries to jump over a fence.

Several cattle get stuck in a chute. Workers kick and yank them by the ears and tail.

Several cattle get stuck in a chute. Workers kick and pull them by the ears and tail.

Electric shock prods are used in the chutes.

This cow has a large open wound on his face.

A calf suffers from a severe maggot infestation.

Electroshocked on Their Way to Slaughter

When cows are roughly 3 years old, the ranchers send them to JBS-owned abattoirs. Workers jab cows around the anus with metal-tipped sticks and electric shock prods to force them onto the cramped lorries used to take them to slaughter.

Workers hit and jab cows with metal-tipped sticks.

Workers shock the cows around the anus to force them onto trucks headed to the slaughterhouse.

Cows headed to JBS S.A. slaughterhouses endure long rides on feces-laden truck beds.

Killed, Skinned, Exported

Every year, millions of cows are killed in several JBS abattoirs in Brazil. Workers slit their throats before hacking off their skin and sending it to JBS tanneries, which produce leather for the automotive, furniture, footwear and accessories industries worldwide. Automotive leather suppliers require at least three adult cows’ hides to produce just one complete leather interior. In 2015, JBS’ 26 factories on three continents produced 10 million hides.