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[Music Playing] [Joaquin] Did you know that mother snakes
keep their eggs warm by wrapping their bodies around them and then shivering to generate
heat? Alligator mothers fiercely protect their eggs and babies up until the hatchlings are
3 years old. Alligator siblings stay together for 1 to 3 years. Exotic animals are mostly
unknown to us, and so is what they suffer before being turned into belts and bags. I'm
Joaquin Phoenix. Please take a few minutes and join me in a behind-the-scenes look at
the exotic skins trade. Every year, millions of reptiles are slaughtered so that handbags,
belts, and shoes can be made from their skin. The animals' welfare is not a consideration
to those who hunt, poach, and farm them. Hunters snare wild lizards and cut them apart with
a machete, sever their heads, and then skin them. According to wildlife biologist Clifford
Warwick, most of these lizards are still alive as the skin is torn from their bodies. This
live snake's head has been nailed to a tree and her body slit open from one end to the
other with a knife. After her skin is ripped off, she'll be tossed into a pile and left
to die, which can take several days. The majority of alligator skins used to make purses and
shoes come from animals raised in crowded, stinking tanks filled with feces and urine.
These animals are either stabbed in the head with a chisel, or bludgeoned with a metal
bat. [Metal Bat Hitting Alligator & Water Sloshing]
[Joaquin] The alligators you see here are clubbed until they stop moving, but no one
will check for vital signs before they are skinned.
[Music Playing] [Joaquin] Many animals, such as lizards, snakes,
and alligators, have a slow metabolism, which means that they may remain conscious and able
to feel pain long after they are decapitated. [Music Playing]
[Hunter] Well this is the heart. I just cut it out of a snake that's been dead for about
5 minutes. And it'll keep beating. Oh, it'll beat for 40 minutes.
[Joaquin] You can help stop the suffering. Anything you have that is made from animal
skins can be made without. With so many stylish and cruelty-free alternatives, there's no
excuse for wearing animal skins. On behalf of PETA and myself, thank you.