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Leather exporters assure PETA of action plan to stop cruelty to animals

The Indian leather industry has assured a United States-based powerful group, capable of creating roadblocks in exports, that an action plan is being worked out to stop cruelty to animals.

Head of the People for Ethical Treatment to Animals, or PETA, told the Council for Leather Exports, or CLE, in New Delhi that the Indian exporters are to blame for cruelty to animals at the slaughter houses. The cruelty is also subjected to the animals when they are transported to the slaughter houses.

In the past few months, PETA has been spearheading a focussed campaign against cruelty to cows in India. Through a film shot in India and other publicity material, it is widely publicising that in India cows are transported for slaughter in an inhuman manner, packing many of these animals in one truck and subjecting them to cruelty, deprivation and physical pain.

Many activists of PETA have protested against Indian embassies and consulates besides motivating importers of leather products made in India to stop buying these from here.

PETA believes that the cruelty caused to the cows in India is at the instance of and for the benefit of the Indian leather sector.

PETA campaign against Indian leather in the US and Europe is building pressure on the Indian leather goods industry which is primarily export-based.

Global brands like Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy have discontinued imports from India.

Gap has also announced that it would renew its buying from India if the products were made from imported hides.

For the first time, PETA and Indian leather industry members on Thursday sat across the table to sort out the matter amicably.

The CLE is chalking out a detailed plan of action with appropriate government and non-government agencies, including animal welfare boards and Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, to educate traders and dealers in hides and skins on proper methods of transport and slaughter of animals.

M Mohamed Hashim, CLE chairman, told the PETA delegation chief Ingrad Newkirk, who observed a day's symbolic fast here yesterday, that ''never in the past nor in the future will the leather industry of the country even remotely encourage or support such horrendous malpractices.''

He said that hardly ten per cent of leather derived from cows is used by the industry and of that six per cent is procured from fallen animals and 90 per cent is taken from buffaloes and goats.

After meeting the PETA head, Hashim told newspersons that ''the PETA campaign has been viewed by the industry in right perspective and accordingly, it has initiated many measures whereby any direct or indirect support that such clandestine trafficking in cattle may derive from the industry is completely eliminated. Besides, the industry would join hands with all appropriate agencies in the country to combat this menace with its full force.''

Hashim has also urged the chief secretaries of all state governments in India to ensure effective implementation of laws and regulations in regard to prevention of cruelty to cows, specifically while transport of these for slaughter.

Hashim has also been advising the tanners all over the country not to procure hides and skins from such dealers who may be directly or indirectly involved in procuring hides and skins from such cruel methods of slaughter.

He denied PETA's claim that the value of hide derived from such live animals taken for slaughter was more than 55 per cent of its total value. Actually, the value of hide never exceeds ten per cent of the total value of the animal. It is, therefore, not a fact that slaughter of cows takes place at the instance of the leather industry.

Though the cattle population in India is currently estimated at about 205 million. The annual production of cattle hides is only 21.72 million, representing 10.60 per cent offtake rate compared with the offtake rate in the US of 38.80 per cent, Australia of 35.50 per cent and Russia of 34.90 per cent.

In all these countries, a cattle is reared for its meat whereas in India, it is primarily for milk.

According to a survey conducted recently, more than 60 per cent of the cattle hides coming to the market in India are from dead cattle.

The CLE chairman suggested that PETA should not pursue policies and steps which may cause irreparable damage to an industrial sector in the country which can have incalculable and widespread adverse effects, particularly on a large number of vulnerable sections of Indian population.

Indian Leather Garments Association, or IGLA, president Moti Lal Sethi said if the campaign by PETA continued, the leather garments exports would be imperiled and it would also jeopardise the industry at home and render about 1.7 million people employed in this industry out of the job.

The turnover of the leather industry in India is about $ 2.5 billion annually including export sales of $ 1.7 billion. India's market share in the $ 65-billion world trade in leather is merely 2.5 per cent.

The industry believes that this menace has to be fought together and it pledges its full support to all pragmatic measures in this regard.

UNI

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