For immediate release:
June 3, 2021
Contact:
Moira Collie 202-483-7382
Nashville, Tennessee. – After PETA shared the first-of-its-kind revelation showing crying alpacas were roughly shaved, cut open and left to bleed from deep wounds, shoe and accessories seller Genesco agreed to ban alpaca fleece from all of its brands, including Johnston & Murphy and Journeys. PETA sends a box of delicious vegan chocolates to the company in gratitude.
“Alpacas are predatory animals that are afraid of being pinned to the ground, which makes rough trimming even more traumatic for them,” says PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman. “All of us at PETA raise our glasses to Genesco for this decision that recognizes alpacas as individuals, not accessories.”
A PETA investigation reveals that workers threw alpacas, some of whom were pregnant, onto tables, tied them tightly by their legs to a counter, and pulled them hard, nearly knocking their legs out of their sockets. Frightened animals spat, screamed and vomited with fear when workers grabbed them by the ears, roughly cut them, roughly sewed up bloody cuts with a needle and thread, and threw them onto the concrete floor.
Genesco previously banned Angora and Mohair after PETA exposed the horrific brutality and appeals. Now the company is joining Lands’ End, Williams Sonoma, UNIQLO, Esprit, Ann Taylor, LOFT, Columbia and more in banning alpaca – and PETA is urging Anthropologie to follow suit.
PETA – whose motto is in part that “the animals are not ours” – opposes arrogance, a worldview focused on human excellence. Photos from the investigation are available here. For more information please visit PETA.org or subscribe to the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram…