Group's Message Is Loud and Clear: Avoid Animal Skins
For Immediate Release:
December 16, 2011
Contact:
Adam Miller 202-483-7382
Washington -- Painted to look like two leopards and wearing little more than ice skates and a banner reading, "Bare Skin, Don't Wear Skin," two PETA members will expose the cruelty of the fur, leather, and wool industries on Friday and call on passersby at the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden's ice skating rink to cross all animal skins off their shopping lists.
When: Friday, December 16, 12 noon
Where: Seventh Street N.W. and Constitution Avenue N.W. (inside the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden),Washington
Animals who are killed for
their fur are electrocuted, poisoned, or gassed or have their necks broken.
Cows slated to be killed for their skin endure painful mutilations and physical
abuse on factory farms and cruel treatment during transport and slaughter.
Exotic animals fare no better: Snakes, for example, have a hose rammed into
their mouths and are pumped full of water so that workers can more easily cut
off the animals' tightened skin while the animals are still alive.
"I'll gladly bare some of my skin if
it will help save animals' skin," says PETA's Leila Sleiman. "With all the luxurious alternatives
available, we're asking Washington, D.C., residents to go faux and help make
fur, leather, and wool a thing of the past."
As Tim Gunn says in the
video exposé that he narrated for PETA, you can
"make it work" without using real fur, leather, or other
animal-derived textiles, and several designers and retailers are doing just
that. Top clothing designers—including Suzy Shier, Calvin Klein, Ralph
Lauren, and Stella McCartney—refuse to use fur in their creations. And
many companies—including H&M, Nike, Cole Haan, and
Overstock.com—have implemented policies banning the sale of exotic
skins.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
