India’s Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has announced ban on the imports of reptile skins and also on mink, fox and chinchilla fur, after the release of videos reportedly showing evidence of abuse in breeding farms in Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Texas.
“Animals are not to be treated like textile fabrics, and we congratulate the Indian government for recognizing this and setting an example which other countries should follow,” said Isabelle Goetz, Spokesperson, PETA France, who expressed the hope that the Indian DGFT’s decision will encourage international labels to use “vegan and innovative fabrics” more extensively.
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In the month of December last year, PETA, an international animal rights organization, published shocking videos showing animals held in undersized cages and being skinned alive in breeding farms that sells skins to Louis Vuitton. A year earlier, similar images shot in Zimbabwe and Texas exposed the practices of companies that PETA claimed were suppliers of the Hermès group, claims media reports.
