Photos: Derry Woman in ‘Dead Ostrich’ Dress Leads PETA Protest Against Hermés Use of Exotic Skins

For Immediate Release:

27 April 2016

Contact:

Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 2078376327, ext 235; [email protected]

PHOTOS: DERRY WOMAN IN ‘DEAD OSTRICH’ DRESS LEADS PETA PROTEST AGAINST HERMÈS’ USE OF EXOTIC SKINS

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

Belfast – Wearing a gruesome twist on Björk’s iconic swan dress, Katie Doherty from Maghera, County Derry, was draped with an ostrich “corpse” last week in front of Hermès’ boutique in Dublin to lead a PETA protest 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, which keeps young ostriches 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 footage is 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 Doherty. “With so many high-end and stylish cruelty-free accessories available, we are 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.

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