On Friday, passersby on Park Avenue will be in for a stomach-churning sight as a PETA supporter has their “skin” torn off—with the help of special-effects makeup—to call attention to the suffering of more than a billion cows and other animals killed every year by the leather industry and to urge consumers to steer clear of materials made from animals’ skin.

When:             Friday, February 2, 12 noon

 Where:           At the intersection of S. Park and E. New England avenues, Winter Park

“Every bit of leather on store shelves came from a once living, feeling being whose skin was ripped from their body, possibly while they were still alive,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging everyone to see the suffering stitched into leather and opt for cruelty-free vegan clothing instead.”

At slaughterhouses, cows killed for leather may be skinned and dismembered while still conscious—after they’ve endured castration, branding, and tail-docking, all without painkillers. In addition to the horrific cruelty it inflicts on animals, the leather industry also contributes to climate change, land devastation, pollution, and water contamination. Sustainable vegan leather made from apples, cork, corn, grapes, mushrooms, paper, pineapples, soy, or tea mimics the properties of leather without the cruelty to animals or environmental devastation.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness.

For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.