PETA seeks to ban ostrich leather

Animal rights organization PETA feels ostriches are very poorly mistreated in the process to obtain their leather, which a certain number of luxury brands use. Allegedly, young animals are stripped of their feathers without any sedation, then killed.

Young animals slaughtered

Brands like Hermès, Prada and Louis Vuitton use ostrich leather, but PETA hopes they will cease to do so now. PETA went undercover at several South African ostrich farms to show how cruelly these animals were treated, according to Belgian newspaper De Standaard. The animal rights organization observed how animals were stripped of their feathers without being sedated, which is illegal according to the World Ostrich Association. Once stripped of their feathers, the animals are butchered right in front of the other ostriches. 

Very young animals, barely a year old, are consistently butchered. In the wild, these animals often stay with their parents until they are three and live until they are about forty years old.

The clip has already attracted more than 6 million views and PETA has already gathered more than 100,000 signatures with an online petition asking fashion companies to ban ostrich leather.