In September 2015, PETA investigators traveled to South Africa to get never-before-seen footage inside the largest ostrich slaughter companies in the world, including the exclusive supplier of ostrich skins for Hermès Birkin bags. Investigators saw workers force terrified ostriches into stun boxes—causing many to slip and fall—and then slit their throats. The ostriches next in line watched helplessly as their flockmates were killed right in front of them.
Workers were caught on camera striking ostriches in the face during transport, and when ostriches stumbled over a collapsed flockmate outside a slaughterhouse, a plant director joked, “I’ll call the animal welfare officer just now.”
These slaughterhouses supply ostrich skins to Hermès, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and other top European fashion houses.