PETA brings Pavilion to standstill with ostrich protest outside luxury stores

KUALA LUMPUR: A herd of live-sized replica ostriches filled the Pavillion Kuala Lumpur mall’s pedestrian walkway today as part of a protest against the use of ostrich skin to make leather bags and couches.

The protest was organised by People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), whose members held signs proclaiming “Bag Cruel Ostrich Leather” to fight for 300,000 ostriches slaughtered annually.

Peta Asia activist Laura Weyman-Jones said behind every branded ostrich-skin bag is a lifetime of deprivation and violent death to the animal.

“Peta United States investigators travelled to South Africa last year to visit some of the largest ostrich slaughter companies in the world.

“We found that ostriches have been tortured multiple times during their short life. They are hit, shocked, killed, plucked and skinned for retailers’ fashion items.

“Even young ostriches are kept in barren dirt feedlots until they are trucked to abattoirs.

“The one-year-old birds are then turned upside down in a stunner, were ejected to have their throats slit and have their feathers plucked out, creating bumpy-textured skin used in luxurious handbags and sofas.

“The worst part is behind the process, there are ostriches, all of their flock mates watching them as they are being killed," she said at the protest here today.

Weyman-Jones said there is nothing luxurious or exotic about crowding birds into barren feedlots, depriving chicks of parental care and then killing ostriches when they are just one year old.

“We’re asking them (fashion brands) to choose cruelty free, vegan leather options and synthetic materials. We would love brands not to use any kind of animal skins for fashion. There are so many other option that can be used to replace animal skin for their products.

“Peta is urging the public not to purchase any product that uses animal skin and in this particular instance, no ostrich skins. The number of ostriches killed for skin products has been fluctuating year to year and this can be reduced if everyone plays a part."