English rock star and animal rights activist Morrissey has penned a letter to General Motors protesting the alleged mistreatment of animals by leather suppliers that manufacture interiors for the automaker.
“As I head to Detroit to play the Royal Oak Music Theatre, I’m writing to ask GM to make Chevy’s Volt and Bolt more eco-friendly by giving buyers the option to choose vegan leather interiors–including steering wheels and gear shifts,” Morrissey wrote in a letter to Mary T Barra, Chair and CEO of General Motors Company.
“GM is named in PETA’s brand-new investigation of cattle ranches, on which animals are branded on the face, electro-shocked, and beaten before they’re slaughtered and used to make leather interiors for car companies, including yours,” the former frontman of the rock band The Smiths wrote.
Morrissey was referring to a recently released PETA video which shows the process cows and bulls go through before their hides are turned into the leather found in many GM automobiles.
Morrissey suggests the auto giant is trying to have it both ways, saying that if it is going to market environmentally-friendly cars, the interiors should be adorned with “vegan options” instead of abused animals parts.
“Given that the Volt and Bolt are being marketed to eco-conscious buyers, entirely vegan options would only broaden their appeal. I look forward to your reply,” he wrote.
In August, PETA partnered with The Smiths to launched a video game app titled “This Beautiful Creature Must Die,” inspired by an arcade-version of the group’s 1985 hit song, “Meat is Murder.”
Morrissey is set to perform Tuesday night at the Royal Oak Music Theatre, which is less than 15 miles away from General Motors’ main campus in Detroit, Michigan.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter: @JeromeEHudson
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