PARIS (AP) — British singer Jane Birkin says she’s asked Hermes to take her name off the crocodile-skin versions of the iconic Birkin handbag, after being contacted by animal rights group PETA over slaughtering practices.
A PETA video from June shows the reptiles at a Texan farm that supplies Hermes, left twitching in a bloody container after being shot with a captive bolt gun and crudely cut.
In a statement obtained by the AP Wednesday, Birkin said that she was “alerted to the cruel practices … to make Hermes handbags carrying my name” and has “asked Hermes to debaptize the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place.”
Hermes says there’s an investigation underway, but the skins from this farm aren’t used for the Birkin bags.