Paul McCartney and his model-turned-activist wife Heather
Mills were in the news this week for decrying the use of Alsatian dogs
(think German Shepherd Dogs) to make fur coats. There is a public outcry,
as well there should be, against certain Asian countries who engage in
this abhorrent trade. But the United States has it's share of shame as
well because the U.S. leather industry does a $1.5 billion business
tanning over 100 million animal skins!
But, we rationalize; these animals are destined for
slaughter anyway, so why not use the skin? The truth is, the worth of the
animal is the worth of the whole animal, not just the meat, and if we
stopped using leather products, and gelatin, and other animal by-products,
the cost of meat would soar to an unattainable level for most people,
effectively crippling the beef industry. If you stop wearing and using
leather, you are doing your part to save animal lives.
By now we are all well aware of the horrors of factory
farming: over-crowding, tight confinement, denial of basic needs,
castration without employing humane anesthetic agents, hot-iron branding,
tail-docking, de-horning, the list goes on and on and on.
Those who have switched to a vegetarian lifestyle have the
satisfaction of knowing that these animals are not suffering for their
benefit, but if you are still buying and wearing leather products, you may
have to take a second look at what goes into the making of leather
products.
Thankfully, red meat consumption has dropped considerably
since the health craze of the seventies (this new anit-carb craze
notwithstanding), and now the profits from the blood industry have become
much more dependent on the sale of the animals "by-products." The hides
account for almost half of the total by-product of the value of cattle. In
addition to cows and calves, the skin of aborted calves and lambs (which
are turned into expensive and prestigious products), and the skins of
horses, sheep, lambs, goats, and pigs slaughtered for meat are also tanned
and sold as leather products. Baby goats are boiled alive in the making of
"kid gloves."
But other species are not safe just because they are not
considered "food animals." Some animals in the US, such as deer, sharks
and alligators are killed just for their skins. Animals killed outside the
US can include zebras, bison, water buffaloes, kangaroos, elephants, eels,
dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, crocodiles and lizards. Snakeskin comes
from snakes skinned alive in the widespread belief that the life-blood in
the skin keeps the skin supple until tanning.
According to an article written by Todd Steiner and
published in the Earth Island Journal (Banned Sea Turtle Products Still
Exported From Mexico Summer 1994), "…thousands of endangered olive Ridley
sea turtles are captured and butchered illegally in Mexico solely for
their skins." Furthermore, up to 30 percent of imported crocodile shoe
leather and other wildlife items are made from endangered, illegally
poached animals.
People in the bloody business of leather making shout from
the rooftops that leather is "biodegradable," and maintain that leather is
"ecologically friendly" The truth is, the tanning process (which involves
the use of dangerous chemicals), negates the organic collagen and protein;
effectively stopping biodegradation. These hazardous chemicals are
formaldehyde, coal tar derivatives, oils, dyes, and cyanide-based
finishing compounds. Most leather production involves chromium tanning,
which is considered hazardous by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA). The slogan adopted by vegetarians…"Better for the planet, better
for the animals and better for you"…. can also be pressed into service as
an argument against using leather products. No surprises there!
A visit to the website of People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals (PeTA) proved highly enlightening - there are wide and varied
alternatives to animal skins. Some of them are cotton, linen, rubber,
ramie, canvas, and a whole range of synthetics. There are also some new
and exciting products on the market: Avia's Hydrolite and Nike's
(1-800-344-NIKE) Durabuck athletic and hiking shoes. This innovative
material is permeable and, according to industry sources "will stretch
around the foot with the same "give" as leather, provides good support,
and is machine washable." Furthermore, non-leather alternative shoes and
accessories are up to 75 percent less expensive than animal leather. In
May of 1990, Parents magazine conducted a poll. An overwhelming majority
of those polled, 69%, admitted that they were against killing animals for
leather. What makes this poll so significant is that the readers of
PARENTS magazine are not, as a group, "animal-rights people." They are
decidedly mainstream people. These are the people that can really make a
difference if they add their collective voice to the voices of animal
advocates!
For all practical purposes, if you are an animal-rights
advocate, the wearing of leather shoes is an obvious liability. Many of us
has had the experience of being at an animal-rights demonstration where
detractors have shouted "Are those leather shoes you are wearing?" This
forces us to take the focus off the issue at hand for the moment while we
ruefully defend activists wearing leather. How about enjoying a vegan meal
while out to dinner with non-animal rights friends. Do we really want to
get side-tracked into a whole, inevitable discussion of why we have
leather products but won't eat meat? We don't bury the corpses of dead
animals in our bodies, why should we surround ourselves with the sad
remains of once beautiful, gentle, and sentient creatures?
We can all agree that fur is dead, that compassion is the
fashion and that vanity is not a good enough reason to wear fur. With the
new non-leather alternatives, we can state with conviction that leather is
dead, and that vanity is not a good enough reason to wear leather and
compassion really is the fashion.
For more information on non-leather alternatives, visit
www.vrg.org.
Go on to Psychology and
Animal Rights
Return to 6 March 2005 Issue
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