The shrill screams of the alpacas during the few minutes that the recording lasts are enough to get an idea of the suffering. You wouldn't even need to watch the video. But yes, shocking images and sounds make up the complaint that the organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has spread throughout cyberspace to demonstrate abuse and torture in the world's largest private farm for these animals.
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The alpaca is an auquénido mammal that lives mainly in Peru, where there are about 3.6 million specimens representing 86% of the world. In this business, the Mallkini company, in whose facilities the abuses have been recorded, is the most important in the wool market for this animal. It belongs to the Michell group, a Peruvian business conglomerate that describes itself as the first exporter of alpaca yarn and sheep wool in the world. It has about 1,400 employees and in its last annual report they declared a total invoiced of 118,000 million euros, with an average increase in sales of 22% compared to the previous year. The Michell group has issued two statements on Mallkini's social networks and, when contacted by this newspaper, they have insisted that they were not aware of the problem. "We reiterate that we deplore these practices, which are an isolated case in our farms," reports Raúl Rivera, head of marketing for the business conglomerate.
In its statement, the Michell Group also recalls that all its shearing processes follow the official protocol approved by the Government of Peru and announce an investigation to clarify what happened at its facilities and determine responsibilities. "The corresponding sanctions will be applied," says Rivera. PETA has confirmed that a representative from Michell contacted them on June 1 and the NGO responded the next morning to organize a call. As of June 3, the company had not responded again.
On his social networks, Mallkini promotes a message of sustainability and financially supports an educational center for children from families without resources. But this image has been broken with the video broadcast by PETA, obtained after a member of the organization's US division secretly visited the shearing center in November 2019 and recorded what was happening inside. "PETA has long exposed the exploitation and suffering of animals in many industries that provide clothing supplies, and we wanted to see how alpacas raised by their fleece were handled and sheared," explains Yvonne Tylor, director of corporate projects for this organization. .
In the recording, you can see how some alpacas that resist moving are forcibly seized, tied and transported with ropes and pulleys to the shearing stations. "The workers held alpacas by the ears, shouting and fighting to free themselves, while they were abruptly shaved with electric pruning shears and vomited from the terror they suffered. They threw the alpacas - some of them pregnant - against tables, tied them to a immobilization device of medieval appearance and they pulled hard, almost taking their legs off their hips. The rapid and abrupt shearing caused cuts and bleeding due to deep wounds that were sewn without an adequate pain reliever, "the organization describes in the accompanying complaint. to the videos.
Systemic abuse
PETA maintains that animal abuse is systemic in the industries that use it, and that several investigations conducted by subsidiaries of this organization in the wool, mohair, angora and cashmere industries have discovered evidence of routine abuse. "We have seen beaten, kicked and mutilated sheep in the wool trade, as well as rabbits whose fur was ripped from them while they were fully conscious in the angora industry. We have heard cashmere goats scream in pain as workers plucked them hair with sharp metal combs. We have also seen goats being dragged by the legs, thrown to the ground, and left bleeding during shearing for their mohair. The cruelty we have witnessed in those industries is widespread and standard practice, "he says. Yvonne Tylor, director of corporate projects at PETA.
The company recalls in its statement that they have international certifications such as Fairtrade and USDA Organic, which verify compliance with good animal management practices. "We are optimizing the training of our operators and improving our control systems in order to guarantee that a clearly isolated event like this will never happen again," he adds. In addition, they encourage them to see the videos published by themselves in which a shearing process away from animal abuse is observed.
From the animal organization they differ, because in their opinion the industries that exploit animals defend their practices saying that the abuse captured in the PETA videos is the work of a few bad apples. "However, it has been repeatedly proven that when animals are used for mass production, there is always cruelty involved. Wherever humans have incentives to earn money at the expense of animals, they will cut back to economize and animals are those who will pay the highest price, "denounces Tylor.
Beyond the controversy, PETA also asks consumers not to buy alpaca wool products, since one of the pillars of this organization is to end the use of fur and other animal derivatives to produce clothing. Peru reached an annual production of more than 4,500 tons in 2018, of which 95% was acquired and transformed by the textile industry, according to data from the Peruvian Government. Of this quantity, 58% of the fiber of these animals was exported, known and appreciated for the quality of its soft and silky wool that is used to design sweaters, scarves and other outerwear.
PETA claims that companies like Esprit, Gap Inc. and the H&M Group (which owns eight brands) are gradually removing alpaca from their items and have cut ties with the Michell Group. Esprit has confirmed to this media that, although they do not work with Mallkini, since they learned of these practices, they have started to reduce alpaca in their products and they commit to totally ban their use before 2023. The H&M group has also corroborated the information: "I can confirm that we have cut ties with the Michell Group, and that we are collaborating with the Textile Exchange [an NGO] to establish a standard in alpaca wool," they responded from their communication department. Gap Inc. has similarly confirmed both the end of its relationship with Michell and its involvement in creating the alpaca wool standard.
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