Help Save Lives

What is Leather?

Leather is a material created through the tanning of animal hides, primarily cows. But skins and pelts of other animals are often used. Lamb and deer skin are used for more expensive and softer leather, and Kangaroo leather is being used to make items that need to be stronger such as shoes and motorcycling accessories (see **Kangaroo Krisis**). More exotic forms of leather are available and for this, certain Snakes and Crocodiles are being hunted to near extinction.

What is Fur?

Fur is the Leather with the fur still attached. Fur is the body hair on nonhuman mammals, on a bird, it is known as Plumage.

Fur is classed as a luxury for the rich and famous, Leather is now more affordable to suit almost every pocket. But why is it so wrong?

Almost all leather comes from cows and calves. When the cow or calf is slaughtered its body is pulled apart, (including the fats and the blood) to be used for meat, leather, tyres, pet food, livestock feed, cosmetics, explosives and paint. Even their heart valves get sent to the pharmaceutical industry. Even Dairy cows, when they reach the point of exhaustion are slaughtered and the skin used for leather. Their calves' skin, if taken for Veal (see **Stop The Veal** campaign), will be used as high - priced calfskin.
Leather can also come from horses, sheep, lambs, goats and pigs. Other species are hunted for their distinctive skin, they include Zebras, boars, water buffalo, bison, elephants, kangaroos (see **Kangaroo Krisis**) seals, eels, sharks, dolphins, walruses, frogs, turtles, crocodiles, cats, dogs, lizards and snakes.
Snakes and lizards are usually skinned alive, it is believed that live skinning keeps the leather supple. Baby goats are sometimes boiled alive to make soft gloves. The skins of unborn lambs and calves are considered luxurious, and the baby is sometimes aborted just for their skin.

Millions of cats and dogs are slaughtered each year for their skins. Hundreds and thousands of them, to be traded in Europe. In France more than 20,000 cats are stolen, killed and skinned every year! Cat and dog fur and skin are deliberately mislabeled and do not accurately indicate their origins, so there is no point checking the label. It's best to just avoid leathers and furs, you never know what it's really made out of.

Would you keep your pet like this?

Around 85% of the fur industries skins comes from factory farmed animals. These animals include Lynxes, Chinchillas, Cats, Dogs, Foxes, Rabbits and even hamsters. Most of the factories are in Europe and the rest dotted around the globe in places such as China, Russia and Argentina.
The animals are kept in tiny cages, even animals that are used to solitary lifestyles such as foxes are forced to share a small space with several others. This results in extreme distress as they cannot move around. Cannibalism is a common occurance as is self painful mutilations like biting their own tails and feet. They are fed other animal by-products that are considered unsuitable for human consumptions. Their water is in a tank with teats that often freezes in the winter.

Would you kill your pet like this?

When it comes to slaughtering the animals for fur, they have to ensure that the fur or the skin doesn't get marked. How then, do they 'humanely' slaughter the animal? In some areas of the world, the smaller animals are crammed into boxes and poisoned with hot, unfiltered exhaust fumes from a truck exhaust pipe. This is not always effective, and the animals come to while being skinned.
Other animals are poisoned using a drug called Strychnine which causes their tiny muscles to paralyze them with rigid and painful cramps, resulting in suffocation.

"Strychnine has been used in rodent poisons and in smaller doses as a stimulant in veterinary practice. It increases the reflex irritability of the spinal cord, which results in a loss of normal inhibition of the body's motor cells, causing severe contractions of the muscles; arching of the back is a common symptom of poisoning. Strychnine rapidly enters the blood, whether taken orally or by injection, and symptoms of poisoning usually appear within 20 minutes. The symptoms begin with cramps and soon culminate in powerful and agonizing convulsions that subside after a minute but recur at a touch, a noise, or some other minor stimulus. Death is usually due to asphyxiation resulting from continuous spasms of the respiratory muscles".

Larger animals have a clamp on their mouth and a rod forced up their anus, then they are painfully electrocuted. Other ways of killing animals for fur to keep the skin intact include neck - snapping, gassing and decompression chambers. None of these are 100% effective and thousands wake up while being skinned.

Would you wear your pet?

Do you have a dog or a cat? Maybe a hamster or a rabbit? Or perhaps something more exotic like a lizard or a snake? Would you treat them like this? Would you kill them like this? Would you wear them?

What if you hadn't have given your pet a home? You could be wearing them right now!

What will I wear?

Leather alternatives can be found in almost every respectable retailer. Not only is it cheaper, but it saves lives.

Don't forget there is also cotton, linen, rubber, ramie, canvas and other synthetic materials. Plus there is now Chlorenol, a new stretchy material being used in shoes as it has the same stretch and versatility as leather, without the murder. If only the companies using kangaroo skin would listen!

Below are two short videos designed to raise awareness! (The videos are not disturbing or graphic)

CAUTION: TRUTHFUL PICTURES BELOW

STOP PRETENDING THAT THIS IS NOT HAPPENING!

It is not too late to start saving lives. 

Any questions or comments?
Drop me an email on helpsavelives@tiscali.co.uk