Call for LVMH to Drop Fur and Exotic Skins Goes to Boardroom
“Will LVMH continue to risk public health and support extreme cruelty to animals, or will it act like an ethical and sustainable company by banning exotic skins and fur today?”
That’s the question from PETA US – which bought stock in LVMH in 2017 – that the company will have to address during its annual meeting on 30 June.
Conservation experts have warned that the practices of the exotic-skins industry increase the risk of future epidemics, as the wild animals it uses are typically confined and slaughtered in filthy conditions – just as animals in “wet markets” are – creating a breeding ground for pathogens similar to the novel coronavirus.
Mink farm
PETA Asia
Wet market
COVID-19 has already swept through fur farms, sickening minks and workers in the Netherlands, which subsequently voted to close all fur farms by the end of the year.
Fur Farming Is Cruel
Not only is farming animals for their fur a danger to human health, it’s also relentlessly cruel to the animals living in these squalid, violent conditions.
©Jo-Anne McArthur / #MakeFurHistory
Humans have no right to imprison minks in barren cages for their entire lives. Unable to engage in natural behaviour, they often go mad from the confinement, and some even self-cannibalise, chewing on their own legs or tails because of the constant psychological and physical torment.
They’re killed in gruesome ways, including poisoning, gassing, drowning, or even being skinned alive.
What’s Wrong With Exotic Skins?
Crocodiles, lizards, and snakes may be poached from their natural habitats or raised on squalid farms and killed in the most gruesome and painful ways before their skin is exported to Europe and used by luxury brands. Just like mammals, reptiles are sensitive to pain, yet they’re frequently mutilated without any prior stunning or painkillers.
PETA’s exposé of the exotic-skins trade showed that live reptiles were sawn open and left to bleed to death on farms that supply skins to luxury brands like Hermès.
What You Can Do
Please speak out for animals exploited and slaughtered for their skin and fur.
