SNAKES ALIVE? YES PLEASE!

12.00.00am UTC (GMT +0000) Fri 21st Dec 2007

The current fashion trend for reptile skins masks a dark side of horrific cruelty, including snakes being force-pumped full of water and skinned alive before being left to die for hours, possibly days. Stories such as these have prompted one local Euro MP to ask the EU what it can do to help.

West Midlands regional MEP Liz Lynne hopes that last-minute Christmas shoppers will avoid luxury goods such as genuine snake-skin shoes and handbags and opt for fake-skinned items, which save animals the pain and also cost much less.

Speaking today, Liz Lynne said:

"I feel strongly that this trade should end. Just because an animal is not cute and cuddly does not mean it deserves to die slowly after being skinned alive.

"It is tragic that so many so-called luxury accessories involve such horrific practices on species that are often endangered. Celebrities such as Kylie and Eva Longoria sporting python-skin bags set an appalling example for the many people who see them as role models.

"It is also a great shame that companies such as Prada do not want to take advantage of the huge market for ethical and sustainable products instead of underwriting the destruction of threatened species."

Claims that snakes and other reptiles are farmed ethically and humanely are denied by scientists and animal rights activists alike, who say that they take too long to mature and cost too much to raise in captivity to be financially viable, so it is suspected that many are hunted in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species provides some protection where animals are endangered but does little to stop the cruelty involved.

Liz continued:

"Yet the shocking thing is that hundreds of thousands of reptile skins, many of which will have been killed in this way, will have been imported legally and many more imported with copied or forged documentation. This cruelty must stop.

"For this reason I have asked the European Commission if it would be possible to tighten controls on what exotic animal products are brought into the EU to try to stop these appalling practices."

ENDS

Notes to Editors:

On the 17th of December, Liz Lynne submitted the following question in the European Parliament:

Recent reports in the UK press have exposed cruelty involved in the trade in reptile, particularly snake skins. I understand snakes are often illegally hunted, then killed by starving, force-pumping with water, skinning alive and being abandoned to die from their injuries.

What could the European Commission do to tighten controls of CITES certificates for such animal products to stop falsely documented and illegal skins entering?

Liz Lynne MEP has long campaigned on animal welfare issues, recently speaking out against the current Japanese 'scientific' whale hunt and also in strong support of the EU proposal for a ban on the import of cat and dog fur into the European Union due to horrific practices involved in their slaughter.

More than 350,000 python skins and leather products were legally imported into the EU in 2005 and it is estimated that the illegal trade is at least as big.

It is also estimated that between 2000 and 2005, 3.4 million lizard, 2.9 million crocodile and 3.4 million snake skins were imported into the EU, along with some 300,000 live snakes for pets.