PETA Member Brings Awareness to Cruelty Behind Animal Skins as Investigative Video Footage Shows Shocking Abuse of Reptiles

For Immediate Release:

23 November 2011

Macau -- With her naked body painted to look like snakeskin and holding a sign that reads, "Animals Suffer for Exotic Skins", a People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia activist will lead a protest on Thursday at Senado Square. PETA wants tourists and shoppers to know that exotic animals are skinned alive, beaten to death or killed for their skins in other cruel ways.

When:            Thursday, 24 November, 12 noon sharp

Where:          In front of the fountain at Senado Square

International fashion trendsetters, including Victoria's Secret and H&M, have already agreed to stop selling products made from exotic-animal skins. Now PETA is calling on companies such as Hermès to end the sale of exotic-animal skins too.

"I'll gladly bare some of my skin if it will help save animals' skin", says PETA "snake" Ashley Fruno. "Each year, millions of animals endure unspeakable cruelty -- all so that the fashion industry can make purses, belts and shoes. By dropping exotic-animal skins from their collections, companies like Victoria's Secret and H&M have sent the message that cruelty to animals is never fashionable."

PETA's undercover investigation of the exotic-skins trade in Indonesia revealed shocking cruelty, including the skinning of reptiles while they were still alive. Each year, millions of animals, such as snakes and lizards, are poached, netted and killed in Indonesia so that their skins can be made into boots, belts, handbags and other fashion items. PETA's video footage shows lizards who gasp for breath after their necks are cut and animals whose heads are nearly detached from their bodies as blood pours from their throats. Workers shove skewers up snakes' noses in order to immobilise them. To separate the animals' skins from their organs, workers pump them full of water while they are still conscious and then tear the skins off the living animals' bodies.

Broadcast-quality video footage of exotic animals killed for their skins is available at http://petaav.com/4broadcast/indonesia_exotic_skins_investigation_PAL.htm.

For more information, please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com.

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