For information on the exotic skin trade visit www.actionforourplanet.com/spotlight

Every year millions of reptiles like snakes, lizards, alligators and crocodiles face absolute torture as they are skinned alive, bludgeoned and stabbed. These animals are victims of the exotic skins trade, a thriving business in  parts of South-East Asia, Africa, Australia and India. Reptiles are either bred or taken from their homes in the wild by using nets, traps and snares (the latter is agonizing). These exquisite creatures then face a horrific death. Snakes are sometimes nailed to trees by their heads while a  knife or machete is pushed into their bodies to rip the skin off. The snake will then be thrown into a pile, skinless, and left to die. Lizards face decapitation, chisels being hammered into the back of their heads and knives being inserted into their body…all while they are alive. Alligators and crocodiles are normally kept on reptile farms where the conditions are atrocious and filthy. They face having their heads smashed in with metal poles, hammers and baseball bats or may be stabbed until motionless (though not dead). Reptiles like those above have slow metabolisms which means they still experience pain even when decapitated.

Please sign this petition to designers who put profits above kindness and inflict torture on these reptiles for such trivial items like belts and handbags.