An investigation by PETA has revealed how crocodiles are brutally abused and killed in Vietnam to supply the designer handbag industry. 

The animal welfare group has released shocking footage and imagery from reptile farms in the US, Vietnam and Africa.

PETA explained how the farms are used to supply ‘luxury’ brands, and revealed harrowing eyewitness footage. 

‘Biggest brands’

Tens of thousands of crocodiles are killed in Vietnam every year to supply ‘some of the biggest brands’, according to PETA.

Workers in the investigation are seen electrocuting crocodiles and then cutting into their necks and ramming metal rods down their spines while they are still living.

“The animals shake vigorously as this happens. One crocodile can be seen lifting his leg after he was cut open. Then workers leave him to bleed out,” PETA explained.

“This killing method has long been shown to be inhumane, and experts have found that crocodilians remain conscious for over an hour after their spinal cord has been severed and their blood vessels cut.”

WARNING: The below video contains graphic imagery which viewers may find distressing.

The video shows how workers cut off crocodiles’ skin – which takes 20 minutes – and one crocodile is seen moving throughout the process. 

The footage was taken by an investigator who visited a farm which holds tens of thousands of crocodiles and slaughters 500 a month. 

Crocodiles are also kept in tiny concrete enclosures narrower than their own bodies for 15 months before they are killed. 

Distress

Experts told PETA that the crocodiles would have suffered huge distress and pain from both the living conditions and slaughter methods.

Crocodiles are also kept packed together in overcrowded rooms, leading to aggression and fighting which in turn leads to injury and disease – one crocodile is even seen without a tail. 

“PETA has exposed cruelty at reptile farms on three continents, and the story is always the same: grim, close confinement and a violent death,” PETA explained.

“Before buying items made out of exotic skins like these, please stop and think of the animals they come from and their intense suffering. Don’t support this cruelty with your purchases.”

• Read: The brutal realities of leather: one billion animals slaughtered and abused every year

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