FYI: PETA also has a sample letter/action alert available here.

———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Nov 30, 2006 8:23 PM
Subject: LETTER/ Tears Of A Cow – India’s Leather Trade

Kinship Circle Primary – PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST AS WRITTEN
(Please do not delete identity/disclaimer information)

WARNING: 2 graphic photos before sample letter

11/30/06: Tears Of A Cow – India’s Leather Trade
KINSHIP CIRCLE ACTION CAMPAIGN

www.KinshipCircle.org

SOURCE OF INFORMATION:

The Horror of the Indian Leather Trade

www.petaindia.com/feat/f-leathertrade.asp

Help Cows Skinned For Leather In India

getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2indianleather?c=peta2_enews

Most American leather goods begin in foreign countries. In India, a top leather producer, cows die miserably inside slaughterhouses swarming with flies. Fallen cows drape their heads across each other in 100-degree heat as they await inhumane death: Workers saw through their necks with dull knives… PETA investigative video: www.petatv.com/tvpopup/prefs.asp?video=skin-trade-ili

Anyone who wears leather is likely clothed in leather from from India or China. Shoes or other goods produced in Italy, the U.S. and other countries use raw materials (skins) imported from India or China…

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SAMPLE LETTER

Feel free to use portions of our letter, but please add some original thoughts. Hundreds of identical letters may lessen the impact.

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Dr. K. Elangovan, IAS, Executive Director
Council for Leather Exports
3rd Floor, CMDA Tower II
Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road
Egmore, Chennai 600 008
ph: +91-44-28594367; fax: +91-44-28594363/64
email cle [at] cleindia.com, cle [at] vsnl.com

His Excellency Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
Room 152, South Block
New Delhi 110 001
ph: +91-(0)11-23012312; fax: +91-(0)11-23016857
web email: pmindia.nic.in/write.htm
(maximum 500 characters – very short message)

Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry
Government of India
Udyog Bhawan
New Delhi 110 011
ph: +91-(0)11-23061008; fax: +91-(0)11-23061492
email: commerce.hub [at] nic.in

Dr. K. Elangovan, His Excellency Manmohan Singh, Minister Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce & Industry:

Please initiate humane standards for the transport and slaughter of cows, buffaloes, sheep and goats used in the Indian leather trade.

I urge the Council for Leather Exports to recognize ongoing animal abuse within the leather industry and implement animal welfare guidelines now.

I respectfully ask government officials to enforce anti-cruelty laws and penalize workers who batter and overload animals; deprive animals of food, water and shelter; sell abused animals; or inhumanely slaughter animals.

Graphic documentation shows pervasive and unlawful abuse, including unsanitary and hazardous conditions inside slaughterhouses. Fallen cows lie on floors splattered with blood, feces, guts and urine. Workers drag animals into abattoirs where they often cut them apart with filthy, dull knives. Some animals remain conscious as they are skinned and dismembered.

Animals gouge and crush each other while transported hundreds of miles in rickety trucks. Drivers break their legs and necks to cram in more animals. Investigators have found bullocks and cows tethered by strings pierced through their noses. They’ve seen animals whose tails were broken so many times, swollen, tumor-like joints protruded from their tail areas.

Despite assurances from Indian officials, no visible improvements have been made. Animals are still transported under wretched conditions. Slaughter facilities are still unhygienic. Unlicensed abattoirs still operate. Small calves are still illegally butchered to process as leather.

Please strengthen animal protections laws in India. I am eager to know about any reforms that actually enhance the lives of animals.

Sincerely,

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Tagged: animals animal+rights action+alerts kinship+circle leather india cow leather+trade animal+skin slaughterhouse

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 30th, 2006 at 10:04 pm and is filed under Action Alerts, Animals as..., clothing, from Kinship Circle. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.