India's Horrible Leather Trade
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Dr. K. Elangovan, IAS, Executive Director
Council for Leather Exports
Gandhi Irwin Bridge Road
Egmore, Chennai 600 008
His Excellency Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India
Room 152, South Block
New Delhi 110 001
web email: http://pmindia.nic.in/write.htm
Shri Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce & Industry
Government of India
New Delhi 110 011
Dear Dr. K. Elangovan, His Excellency Manmohan Singh, Minister Shri Kamal Nath, Commerce & Industry:
Please NOW 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 and 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 yours,
