Animal groups lead global action against Hermès croc slaughter

In response to shocking new undercover footage from a Hermès crocodile farm, Kindness Project, World Animal Protection, Collective Fashion Justice, Farm Transparency Project, Animal Liberation Queensland, Animal Liberation and PETA Australia have led a global digital protest targeting Hermès, 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.

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.

“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 The report also revealed the code of practice for farmed crocodiles in Australia is inadequate and out of date, relying on decades-old science and research.

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.”

-ENDS-

For further information or to organise an interview with a spokesperson, contact: 

World Animal Protection Sandra Sopin  Media Advisor  [email protected]

The Kindness Project Alix Livingstone Campaign Director [email protected]

Editor notes:

• The footage can be found on www.dropcroc.com. The full report ‘Fashion Victims’ is available here. 
• Images can be found here, including of the global protests which will be available on/after 4 September.
• A recent poll, conducted by World Animal Protection, found Australians were largely unaware of the cruel industry with 74% of people not aware of how Australian crocodiles were being farmed and killed for their skin*
• Three to four crocodiles need to be killed to produce one Hermés handbag 
• In the wild, saltwater crocodiles can live for around 70 years. In captivity, they live for only two to three years in poor conditions before enduring a brutal death.
• The slaughter method involves the crocodile being stunned with an electrical stunner, then a bolt gun is shot through their heads, followed by the severing of the spinal cord and the rod to scramble their brain.
• 70 per cent of emerging infectious zoonotic diseases (transmittable from animals to humans) are thought to come from wild animals. They are also responsible for past disease outbreaks including COVID-19, which has a wild animal origin. 

*Research conducted by Pure Profile (May 2021), who surveyed 2,003 individuals across Australian and New Zealand. Statistics are rounded to closest whole percent. 

About Kindness Project

Kindness Project is an animal rights organisation dedicated to dismantlement of the animal industrial complex, seeking to help forge a path to a kinder, more sustainable future for animals, humans and the planet alike. To learn more about Kindness Project and how you can take action for animals, visit: www.kindnessproject.org.au 

About World Animal Protection  

World Animal Protection has moved the world to protect animals for more than 50 years, influencing decision makers to put animals on the global agenda, and inspiring people to protect animals. To learn more about World Animal Protection and how you can take action for animals, visit: www.worldanimalprotection.org.au.