Rihanna’s vegan leather collection was launched earlier this year under her Fenty brand and described later by Vogue as ultra-chic. The animal-friendly capsule collection features a range of items such as oversized button-down shirts, hoodies, corset dresses, skirts and baggy pants. Rather than real leather, the collection uses a blend of 50% polyurethane and 50% polyester with a soft cotton lining. The high-quality soft faux-leather is sourced from Italy. View this post on Instagram @badgalriri in our latest Faux Leather ensemble. Oversized Shirt and Baggy Pants in Café Latte. FENTY.com A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 5, 2020 at 3:41am PDT About Rihanna’s Vegan Leather Collection The pieces are available in Jet Black as well as Café Latte and range in price from £410 to £780. “Inspired by utility wear and uniforms as proud markers of identity.” Fenty Fenty has been displaying unique contrasts of rebelliousness with smart, conscious luxury. The soft, rippling faux leather combined with casual tailoring gives the collection the relaxed feel. In addition, the army style showcases the brand’s image of power, strength, and individualism. View this post on Instagram Casual impact. New Faux Leather hoodie and high-waisted baggy pants in Café Latte with contrast stitching. ⠀ Discover the Faux Leather capsule collection through link in bio.⠀ -⠀ Photographer @lucieroxxx⠀ Model @awuoimach A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 2, 2020 at 1:37pm PDT View this post on Instagram Superpower silhouette. FENTY Jet Black Faux Leather. Always on the lookout for new materials and innovative techniques to integrate into our product design, we’ve refashioned five signature styles in Faux Leather, including the Oversized Shirt and the #Release220 baggy pants.⠀ Discover the capsule collection now through link in bio. – Photographer @lucieroxxx Model @awuoimach A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 2, 2020 at 10:49am PDT Campaign Awuoi Mach Gugei, a 20 years old model living in the Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya is modelling the collection. To celebrate the launch, Fenty partnered with London-based collage artist and filmmaker Rosanna Webster. As a result of using campaign images, a core element of this collection, the contrast between the strength of the silhouettes and the softness of the fabric has been highlighted. View this post on Instagram For our Faux Leather capsule we partnered with London-based artist @rosannawebster who used our campaign images to highlight a core element of this collection: the contrast between the strength of the silhouettes and the softness of the fabric. Discover the capsule now on FENTY.com and through link in bio. – Campaign images by @lucieroxxx A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 8, 2020 at 2:31am PDT View this post on Instagram For our Faux Leather capsule we partnered with London-based artist @rosannawebster who used our campaign images to highlight a core element of this collection: the contrast between the strength of the silhouettes and the softness of the fabric. Discover the capsule now on FENTY.com – Campaign images by @lucieroxxx A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 5, 2020 at 8:19am PDT “Compassion in fashion” Award Because of her contribution, PETA US has recognised Rihanna’s faux leather capsule collection with a “compassion in fashion” award. Moreover, this is the second honour Rihanna has won for her Fenty label. In December, she also picked up the prize for Urban Luxe at the Fashion Awards in London. Vegan fashion trend Rihanna joins a long list of stars who’ve used vegan materials in their collections such as Serena Williams, Lewis Hamilton, Rooney Mara, RZA, and Jessica Simpson. Earlier this year She also launched a lingerie collection, Savage X Fenty Valentine Collection, which was 100% vegan and didn’t contain silk. Rihanna’s vegan leather collection is praised by PETA Director Elisa Allen who said: “With her new vegan collection, Rihanna shows how easy it is to create a killer look that no animal had to die for.” Rihanna promotes animal welfare through her businesses, adapting to consumers’ growing demands for eco-conscious and cruelty-free fashion although not being vegan herself. The full collection can be seen on the Fenty website. View this post on Instagram Faux Leather Jet Black ensemble worn by @bellahadid during #PFW, back when we were outside…⠀ The Faux Leather capsule will be available tomorrow APRIL 2.⠀ Online only at FENTY.com -⠀ 📷@tiziano.raw A post shared by FEИTY (@fenty) on Apr 1, 2020 at 10:09am PDT Bella Hadid presented the collection for the first time during Paris Fashion Week. Photo by @tiziano.raw Also, check other posts related to animal welfare.
Netflix “Tiger King” – Joe Exotic’s sentence and charges
Joe Exotic’s sentence and charges are being explored in this post, focusing on the wildlife allegations against him. The NETFLIX series starts with the words: Let me show and tell the whole thing because then you’ll get it. Then you’ll say, ‘Jesus f*cking Christ, why are you in jail’? Joseph Maldonado-Passage, Netflix Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness Joe Exotic’s Sentence In April 2019, a former Oklahoma zookeeper was convicted of two counts of murder for hire as well as 17 charges of animal abuse. On January 22nd, 2020 Joseph Maldonado-Passage was sentenced to 22 years in prison. Wildlife Charges According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma, Joe Exotic was found guilty of eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act. Charges of violating the Lacey Act Violating the Lacey Act included falsifying records of wildlife transactions in interstate commerce. According to these counts, Maldonado-Passage was engaged in the illegal sale of tigers and other animals by checking the box on the USDA transfer form that says “donated” or “transported for the exhibition only” instead of “sale”. Additionally, Joe was involved with breeding cats for cub petting. It was a business that as he said brought him up to $100 000 per cub. During the trial, several big cat owners were specifically mentioned as people Joe had sold tigers to. It is believed that this illegal trade is common among cub breeders and exhibitors. The list includes Bhagavan Antle, Tim Stark, Bill Meadows, Mario Tabraue, Kathy Stearns, Robert Engesser, Jeff Lowe, and Omar Villareal. According to the research done by Big Cat Rescue, these are the places that Joe Exotic sold his cats to. BIG CAT RESCUE RESEARCH Most of those places had bad USDA inspections highlighting a lack of veterinary care and very poor, unsafe conditions. Some of them do not have a licence at all. Charges of violating the Endangered Species Act Nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act included killing five tigers in October 2017. Tigers were shot in the head to make space for other animals. In his federal complaint, he claims he “humanely euthanised” the tigers as they had suffered “14 years of painful walking on declawed paws to the point that they were crippled.” Additionally, according to sources during the trial prosecutors showed pictures of dead tigers found by federal officers in graves in the back of the zoo. Joe Exotic addressed the deaths of his tigers saying “In 20 years, I’ve had 50-plus tigers buried in that back pasture, and nobody gives a damn. Nobody.” Because tigers are an endangered species, therefore, these alleged killings and sales violated the Endangered Species Act. All these wildlife charges brought another four years in prison adding to his sentence for murder for hire. Investigation Throughout the years there were few investigations into the animal abuse in G. W. Zoo done by HSUS and PETA. The videos below show undercover footage from the park. During Joe Exotic’s sentence trail As said by Judge Palk in his pre-sentencing statement Joe while awaiting trial in Grady County Jail showed an ongoing lack of respect for the law by calling and trying to broker the sale of lion cubs. Joe Exotic’s lawyers requested that he be allowed to again own wild animals after his release from prison but the request has been denied. After Joe Exotic’s sentence, he was transferred to the Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. He has filed a federal lawsuit seeking nearly $94 million in damages. He claims among other things that he was convicted based on false and perjured testimony. Joe Exotic alleges that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service placed tigers on the endangered species list to target people who use tigers in commercial businesses. As he says it “allows animal rights groups to sue small zoos and circuses” and to make ”privately-owned tigers extinct.” Post-trial Some of Joe’s tigers are currently in a sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. As part of a court-settlement transfer assisted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in 2017 thirty-nine tigers and three bears that were held at an Oklahoma Zoo were transferred to this facility due to illegal trade between him and Dade City Wild Things in Florida. The series focuses on the conflict between Joe Exotic and Carole Baskin. It seems like the animals are taking the back seat. Animal Right activists are hoping that this is a chance for all of the evidence of these illegal transfers developed for this trial to be used to prosecute more people and protect animals from this illegal trade. “We hope that people see past the hype, ‘glamour’ and intrigue and focus on the animals caught up in it all — especially the ones that are still being exploited.” Kent Drotar, public relations director for the nonprofit Wildlife Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado Check other posts related to animal welfare.
Coronavirus vs Eating Meat?
Over the past few months we have heard questioning of the link between coronavirus and eating meat. The COVID-19 outbreak was suspected to explode out of China’s ‘wet-blood’ wildlife market in Wuhan, where people coexist in cramped quarters alongside animals both alive and dead. The market included: marmots, birds, dogs, pigs, badgers, rabbits, bats, snakes, wolf pups, cicadas, scorpions, bamboo rats, squirrels, foxes, salamanders, turtles, crocodiles and civet cats. Video by CCN from Wuhan Seafood Market According to Public Health England, COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease, which means it is caused by an animal virus that has been picked up by humans. Between 60% – 80% of emerging infections are derived from an animal source. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations also released a report acknowledging that many new human diseases are directly linked to animals used for food. The latest research links the coronavirus back to bats and pangolins, both of which were being sold there for soup. According to a study published in Nature in February, scientists have found a 96% genetic match between a coronavirus that is found in bats and the virus that’s currently infecting humans. When bats contract these viruses, their particularly strong immune systems prevent them from getting sick and dying from the infections meaning that they can continue to carry and pass on the virus. As a virus jumps from species to species, it mutates. Richard J. Kuhn, PhD, a professor of biological sciences at Purdue University believes that it’s not likely that novel coronavirus spread directly from bats, but some creature was the intermediary between them and humans. It’s thought that humans then came into contact with an infected animal at the market. But it is still unknown how exactly the virus was transmitted. Some theories include a human touching an infected animal during the butchering process or the consumption of it. Dr Jonathan Quick, Adjunct Professor of Global Health at the Duke Global Health Institute, says: “Traditional wet markets remain a threat to global health.” Not only meat-eaters are affected by that. Animals are transported in filthy lorries and slaughtered on killing floors soaked with blood, urine, and other body fluids. These are conditions that pathogens flourish in. It is a perfect ground for new strains of dangerous bacteria and viruses. The founder of PETA, Ingrid Newkirk, said: ‘Filthy factory farms, abattoirs, and meat markets threaten the health of every human being on the planet by providing a breeding ground for deadly diseases like coronavirus, SARS, bird flu, and more’. However, many zoonotic diseases are not the result of farming. Malaria and Yersinia pestis being an example. In recent decades, human infections of animal origin have increased due to an expanding human population, pushing into previously undisturbed ecosystems. Limiting human contact with animals seems like the most effective way to lower the risk associated with transferring viruses and other pathogens from animal populations to humans. That includes farming, hunting, ranching, keeping animals as pets and intruding on wildlands. The more we hunt wildlife, the more we come in contact with new environments and the more we increase the likelihood of us being exposed to these viruses. It’s clear that poaching and hunting endangered species has to stop. It’s totally unacceptable. I think everybody in all authorities of the world are in agreement with that. Peter Ben Embarek, World Health Organization’s International Food Safety Authorities Network