Lisa B slams heartless designers who use exotic skins.

As a former model, Lisa B is just as accustomed to being on the catwalk as she is to sitting in the front row at fashion shows. But following recent shows in London, Paris and Milan, Lisa is letting fashionistas know there is one fashion faux pas that makes her blood run cold: the use of exotic skins.

To make her point, Lisa B unveiled her hard-hitting new PETA ad, which features her naked body covered in what appear to be snake scales and lying in a pool of fake blood along with the tagline "Wearing Exotic Skins Kills". Shot by renowned photographer Trevor Leighton, PETA aims to let people know that every bag, shoe or jacket made from exotic skins comes with a high price – and it's paid for by animals who are ripped from their jungle homes and cruelly killed.

Every year, millions of snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles are killed for heartless fashions. Ranched alligators are kept in tiny structures – with up to 600 inhabiting one building – which reek of rancid meat, alligator waste and stagnant water. Although alligators may naturally live up to 60 years, alligators on farms are usually butchered before their fourth birthday. Alligators on farms are often beaten with hammers and sometimes take up to two hours to die.

Documentary footage shows that snakes are often skinned alive because dealers believe this practice makes their skin more supple. Larger animals like pythons have hoses inserted into their mouths and are given large quantities of water in order to loosen their skin and thus make flaying easier. Their peeled, writhing bodies are then discarded, and it can take days before they eventually die from shock and dehydration. It has even been estimated that up to 90 per cent – or more – of the snakes used in fashion could be wild-caught. And according to experts, the major suspected cause of the decline in larger snake species in countries where they live is the collection of snakes for the skin trade.

Despite dwindling numbers in the wild, lizards continue to be killed in large numbers to meet the demands of the skin trade. Lizards play an important role in nature – and the killing of millions of them is disrupting the balance of nature in many parts of the world. It takes at least four lizards to make just one pair of boots, and skinning the lizards alive is preferred because of the belief that it imparts elasticity, or "give". A nail through the head holds the animals; they are then stretched out and have a knife cut into each side of their bodies to rip off the skin.

"Fashion is supposed to be fun", says Lisa, "but there's nothing amusing about the hideously cruel ways in which exotic animals are killed for the fashion industry. Even if you don't think snakes or crocodiles are cute and cuddly, try to remember that they feel pain just like any other animal."

What You Can Do

• Find out more information about animals killed for their skins by clicking here.
  
• For November, we are offering a free edition copy of our stunning new campaign poster featuring model Lisa B to anyone who donates £30 or more online to PETA.