Exciting news for animal lovers like me. Precious Alpacas won’t be brutalized for their wool, at least by one more Luxury fashion brand. Valentino have joined other brands such as Uniqlo and Marks & Spencer, and halted usage of Alpaca products. Alpacas are indigenous to the Peruvian Andes. They have beautiful soft fur, which really belongs on their backs, not on ours! Of course, in Fashion, we regularly utilize animal byproducts - but we do not eat Alpaca meat, and videos have surfaced of horrific treatment of these camelids - bloodied, cut and screaming Alpacas vomiting from the stress and trauma broke my heart.
I sincerely hope that many other luxury and high street companies follow suit. I spent some time in Peru in 2015, and fell in love with these cuddly (and somewhat happy looking) camelids!
I found Peru to be a country full of rich traditions, full of culture, full of love and joy. The culture as it comes to animal welfare is clearly much different from here in the USA. A Peruvian delicacy is Cuy, which is Guinea Pig roasted on a stick (teeth and all). Still, my understanding was Alpacas and Llamas were mostly treated well due to them being central characters in the tourist trade.
The video PETA showed of the poor screaming Alpaca’s, with limbs almost dislocated from being thrown atop tables - shocked me to the core considering my own personal experiences in Peru and with the warmth and kindness I found there.
- Sara Louise Petty
A cute Alpaca smile.
Sara Louise Petty in the Mountains of Chinchera.
My journal from Peru.
Sara Louise Petty in Cusco
