Wearing a gruesome twist on Björk's iconic swan dress, Derry woman Katie Doherty draped herself an ostrich "corpse" 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 what it claims is a “highly secretive industrial ostrich-slaughter industry,” which keeps young ostriches in “barren dirt feedlots” until they are trucked to abattoirs.
According to PETA, the one-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.
Katie (pictured), from Maghera, said anyone who bought a bumpy Birkin bag or pockmarked Prada purse was responsible for the” shocking, slaughtering, plucking and skinning of a smart, sensitive and curious young ostrich.”
She added:. "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.
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