Very few people are aware of the extreme cruelty that animals suffer to be turned into exotic skin products. Some are even skinned alive during the manufacturing of luxury leather goods.

Crocodiles in Thailand are being farmed in the most inhumane of conditions. They are crammed into putrid tanks and ponds before being subjected to the cruelest of slaughter practices; being shot or hammered to shatter their spines and cause paralysis. Some are skinned alive. And an average handbag requires the slaughter of not one, but four crocodiles. The blood, in demand for its purported medicinal properties, is drawn from the animal while the meat and hide is processed. Thailand also has the largest crocodile farming industry in the world where about 700,000 are raised annually. None are expected to survive.

Snakes suffer no less. Every year, at least 440,000 pythons are caught in the jungles of Southeast Asia, where some are hung, decapitated, and then skinned. Some have their jaws forced open, a hose inserted into their body cavity, and then are pumped full of water so that their skin becomes easier to remove. The skin is then ripped from the animal’s body, sometimes while they’re still alive. A cold-hearted end for these remarkable, cold-blooded animals.

Both crocodile and snakeskins are then shipped to tanneries for treatment and then exported from Southeast Asia to Western fashion houses in order to be stitched into luxury leather goods.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can play an important role in alleviating their suffering by raising awareness. Pledge today never to wear or purchase exotic skins again.