Leather: A Global Killer

Leather: A Clobal Killer LEATHER IS THE MOST ECONOMICALLY IMPORTANT BYPRODUCT OF THE MEAT INDUSTRY. "MADE IN ITALY" DOESN'T MEAN "CRUELTY-FREE." CHINA IS THE WORLD'S LEAD- ING EXPORTER OF LEATHER, Purchasing the skins of cows raised in the U.S. likely pays for the horrors of factory farming, including castration, branding, tail-docking, and dehorning-all without any painkillers. Even if your expensive shoes were manufactured by a high-end designer, the skin may still have come from India, China, or another country with unenforced animal welfare laws. including skins from cattle, sheep, and even cats and dogs, whose skin may be intentionally mislabeled and sold to unsuspecting customers. THE CARCINOGENIC CHEMICALS USED TO IN INDIA, COWS' TAILS ARE OFTEN BROKEN TAN LEATHER POLLUTE THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT, ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF ANIMALS AND HUMANS. AND TOBACCO IS RUBBED INTO THEIR EYES in order to force them to walk up to 60 miles to the istockPhoto Raising animals for leather destroys the environment around the world. Because leather is so financially significant to the meat industry, it, too, contributes enormously to the industry's depletion of water, fossil fuels, and pasture land as well as to climate change, which threatens ecosystems around the globe. slaughterhouse. Every year, the global leather industry slaughters more than 1 billion animals. Learn more about where your leather bag, belt, or shoes may have come from (and who it may have been!), and pledge never to wear anyone else's skin again. PETA