PETA India’s ‘Grim Reapers’ to Proclaim ‘Leather Is Dead’ Ahead of Halloween

For Immediate Release:

27 October 2022

Contact:

Hiraj Laljani; [email protected]

Radhika Suryavanshi; [email protected]

Bengaluru – On Friday, a trio of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India supporters dressed in Grim Reaper costumes will rise up from the underworld in time for Halloween (31 October), congregating at the World War I memorial in Bengaluru to sentence leather to death. They’ll drag leather boots, bags, belts, and jackets by a chain and carry scythes emblazoned with the message “Leather Is Dead”.

When:             Friday, 28 October, 12 noon sharp

Where:           World War I memorial, 5, Brigade Road, Shanthala Nagar, Ashok Nagar, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560025

“The production of leather is like something out of a horror movie: gentle cows scream as they’re killed in filthy blood- and offal-soaked slaughterhouses,” says PETA India Campaigns Manager Radhika Suryavanshi. “PETA India is reminding everyone that leather is as dead as the animals it comes from and encouraging shoppers to opt for innovative vegan clothes and accessories.”

Cows, buffaloes, and other animals used for leather are often crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones break. Slaughterhouse workers cut the throats of those who survive this ordeal in full view of other animals before dismembering and skinning them, often while they’re still conscious. Run-off from leather tanneries contaminates rivers and streams, harming all life there. Working in tanneries has also been linked to cancer, respiratory infections, and other illnesses in humans.

Vegan leather and other animal-friendly options are available at nearly all major shoe and clothing shops nationwide. The global “PETA-Approved Vegan” certification authenticates handbags, shoes, clothing, accessories, furniture, and home decor items made from vegan materials rather than animal-derived ones such as leather, silk, wool, fur, and feathers. Over 1000 companies worldwide are using the “PETA-Approved Vegan” logo to enable socially conscious consumers in India and elsewhere to identify vegan products at a glance while shopping.

PETA India – whose motto reads, in part, “animals are not ours to wear” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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