Photos: Topless Model In ‘Dead Ostrich’ Dress Leads PETA Protest Against Hermès Use Of Exotic Skins

21 April 2016

New Exposé Reveals Young Ostriches Shocked, Smacked, Killed, Plucked and Skinned for Hermès and Prada Bags

Dublin – Wearing a gruesome twist on Björk’s iconic swan dress, a “bleeding” topless model draped with an ostrich “corpse” and carrying a handbag-shaped sign led a PETA protest this morning in front of Hermès’ boutique in Dublin against the use of exotic skins for fashion accessories.

The action comes on the heels of PETA’s release of the first-ever exposé of the highly secretive industrial ostrich-slaughter industry, where young ostriches are kept in barren dirt feedlots until they are trucked to abattoirs. The 1-year-old birds are then turned upside down in a stunner before having their throats slit and their feathers plucked out – creating the bumpy-textured or “goose bump” skin used in Birkin and Prada bags and other “luxury” goods.

Photos from the event are available here and here. Video available here.

“Anyone who buys a bumpy Birkin bag or pockmarked Prada purse is responsible for the shocking, slaughtering, plucking and skinning of a smart, sensitive and curious young ostrich”, says PETA Associate Director Elisa Allen. “With so many high-end and stylish cruelty-free accessories available, PETA is calling on shoppers to bag the animal skins and shop vegan.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – is calling on Hermès, Prada and all other retailers to drop ostrich and other exotic skins.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.