In response to shocking new undercover footage from a Hermès crocodile farm, World Animal Protection, alongside animal charities The Kindness Project, PETA, Collective Fashion Justice, Farm Transparency Project, Animal Liberation Queensland, and Animal Liberation have led a global digital protest targeting Hermés, their use of crocodile skin in their luxury products, and their new proposed farm in Australia set to house up to 50,000 saltwater crocodiles.
A global day of action was also held on Saturday 4 September in cities around the world including Brisbane, Beijing, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Berlin and Jakarta, as supporters around the world came together to protest the cruel exploitation of crocodiles in Australia.
Ben Pearson, Head of Campaigns at World Animal Protection said:
"Now is the time to come together to end the commodification and cruel exploitation of wild crocodiles. The unnatural conditions and unspeakable slaughter methods are unacceptable in modern society.
"Crocodiles are wild animals who deserve a wild life. They are sentient beings, not luxury French handbags, and should not be left to languish in plastic-lined pens for the profits of French fashion houses.
"We are calling on Hermès to commit to phasing out the controversial farming of crocodiles for their skins and join other fashion brands in shifting to humane, plant-based alternatives."
Alix Livingstone, Campaign Director at The Kindness Project said:
"It is imperative that as a nation we send a strong message that our precious wildlife are not objects to be commodified for the sake of luxury fashion demands of the richest 1% in the world.
"Recent footage has proven that even the supposed highest standards in welfare cannot protect crocodiles from abhorrent living conditions and brutal slaughter. It is time for Hermès to follow the lead of so many other fashion houses in choosing kinder animal-friendly materials in their collections.
"We are calling on Hermès to #dropcroc from their collections and join the kinder fashion movement, utilising some of the plethora of innovative, sustainable and animal-free materials available"
A recently released report by World Animal Protection highlighted that thousands of Australian saltwater crocodiles are farmed and slaughtered every year for expensive luxury bags, shoes and watches in NT farms owned by some of the world's biggest luxury fashion brands like Hermès and Louis Vuitton. The report also revealed the code of practice for farmed crocodiles in Australia is inadequate and out of date, relying on decades-old science and research.
