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Indian leather boycotted: PETA overjoyed

Shyam Bhatia
India Abroad Correspondent in London

An animal rights group in London says it is 'incredibly pleased' by a leading departmental chain's decision to boycott Indian leather products following evidence that cattle are routinely beaten and abused.

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals pressure group has praised Marks and Spencer for announcing that it would make sure its jackets and shoes from now on contained leather from other sources.

PETA is backed by Hollywood celebrities such as Pamela Anderson, other leading retailers like Gap and shoe manufacturers such as Hush Puppies and Gap.

An investigation carried out on behalf of PETA discovered evidence that cow handlers often broke animals' tails and rubbed chillies in their eyes to make them walk faster across hundreds of miles for slaughter.

Animal rights activists also recorded cases where cows were impaled on each others' horns when the lorries into which they were packed were driven at top speed along bumpy roads.

A PETA spokesman said, "Gandhi's sacred cow is now being abused on a massive scale in India. We're trying to pressure the Indian government to implement welfare laws which are on the country's statute book."

A Marks and Spencer spokesman, who said the company was super-sensitive to animal issues, said, "Although we were satisfied our cow hides came from abattoirs where cattle were not required to travel long distances, we decided that if there was even a risk of concern over animal welfare, it wasn't worth continuing using Indian leather."

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