Leather, Fur & Skin
None of these products are required by humans.
The commercial production of all these items involve extremely cruel practices that cause suffering and death for the animals being used.
If we purchase these unnecessary items, we finance unnecessary animal cruelty.
Leather
Leather is not a bi-product of meat, it is the most valuable co-product. It makes the raising and killing of animals more profitable, and that extra revenue could make a business viable for a farmer. Certain animal leathers are more valuable than the animal's flesh, making the meat a co-product of the leather.
Cows are killed by having their throats cut open, and are sometimes still alive when their skin is being torn off. Dog leather is also commonly exported, and there is no easy way to tell what animal a leather product is made from.
High quality, cruelty free and affordable non-animal leather products are widely available.
This 2 minute video by PETA explains the leather industry further. WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT. Viewer discretion advised.
Fur
Dogs, cats, foxes, rabbits, minks, racoons and other animals can be treated terribly on fur farms. In China, where most of the world's fur is farmed, the animals are often kept in crowded cages unable to move freely, and can be thrown around violently during transportation. Animals are often killed by clubbing, gassing or by having their necks broken or cut open. Sometimes these animals are still alive when their skin is being torn completely off their body. They can remain conscious well after skinning, being left to suffer severely before they die.
Imitation fur can sometime be real fur, so buyers need to be very careful, or avoid it completely.
This 2 minute video by PETA explains the fur industry further. WARNING: EXTREMELY GRAPHIC CONTENT. Viewer discretion advised.
Skin
Ostriches, crocodiles, snakes and other animals in commercial farms are raised to be killed for their skin. Living conditions can be terrible in cramped and unsanitary enclosures.
The killing process can be extremely painful. Ostriches can be stunned and hung upside down to have their neck cut open, often while still conscious. Crocodiles can be clubbed to death or have their neck cut open and a metal rod rammed down their spinal cord. Some are still conscious when their skin is being removed. Snakes are commonly cut open and skinned alive, and then discarded to suffer without their skin for days before they die.
This 2 minute video by PETA explains the exotic skins industry further. WARNING: VERY GRAPHIC CONTENT. Viewer discretion advised.