Ostrichs

Ostriches are intelligent and sensitive animals capable of taking part in a complex social system. Males and females are loyal parents who share the education of their children (curious and playful) including brooding. In the wild these animals can live more than 40 years, but in the ostrich trade they will be killed just after their first year. Males with dark feathers cover the night while camouflaging females brood during the day.

As soon as the ostrich eggs hatch, the birds that would normally stay for several years with their devoted parents are herded into enclosures with earthy floors. While they are still alive, these feathers are plucked from their bodies, left bloody, damaged and destroyed. These feathers will be used to make feather dusters, while the feathers of their wings will be used to make costumes for the Moulin Rouge and for the carnival in Brazil.

At the scene of the slaughter, many panicked birds slip and fall to the ground while the employees force them and violently enter a box where they will be electrically stunned. We cut their throats. Ostriches awaiting their turn can see their fellows being shot through the doorway.

Up to 85% of the ostrich feather and flesh leather produced worldwide comes from slaughterhouses in South Africa's Western Cape Province and young ostriches are killed there to produce handbags, shoes and “luxury” belts for high-end brands.