Protests in Manila against using ostrich leather

Activists from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) staged a protest in Philippines' capital Manila on Thursday against the use of ostrich leather in luxury brand products.

The group held the protest outside the store of French high fashion luxury goods manufacturer, Hermes, which PETA claims sells bags and sofas that are made from ostrich-leather, EFE news reported.

The demonstrators, which included both foreigners and Filipinos, brought life-size cardboard cutouts of ostriches which they erected in front of the shop, and held placards with the message "Hermes: Accessories to murder" printed on them.

The protest follows a similar one held by PETA activists in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in April, when they set up the same cutouts of ostrich images in front of a Prada store.

"Every ostrich-leather bag and sofa in Hermes' stores represents smart, sensitive and curious young birds who were shocked, slaughtered, plucked and skinned," said PETA Vice President of International Campaigns Jason Baker, in a statement in April.

--IANS

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