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PETA footage shows workers grabbing ostriches, choking two by the neck, pulling hoods over their heads, and forcing them into metal cages. Then the workers crowd in and rip fistfuls of feathers out of their wings and tails—while the birds are fighting to get away.
The feather industry wants celebrities and consumers to believe that ostrich feathers are “collected” in humane ways. PETA’s new investigation reveals the violence hidden behind those claims.
Watch the video. It takes 60 seconds, and you’ll never look at a feather boa the same way again.
The ostriches kick. They thrash. They can’t escape. The investigator saw blood on the feathers workers had just torn out.
What else did the investigator see?
An industry representative stated that juvenile ostriches are plucked for feathers starting at around six months old. At this farm, birds stood with broken, filthy, frayed feathers. Some had lumps the size of a tennis ball on their necks.
The investigator also filmed inside a slaughterhouse that kills about 125 ostriches a day. Workers hang the birds upside down by their legs and cut their throats. Not once did the investigator see anyone check whether a bird was unconscious or still able to feel the fear and pain of being shackled and cut open.
Ostriches can live for decades. These birds die at just 12 months old.
Ostriches are curious, social birds who can recognize other ostriches and humans, travel in groups, and protect their babies. Like dogs, cats, and humans, they feel pain and fear—and every feather torn from their bodies belongs to them, not the fashion industry.
Where do these feathers end up?
Farms in this investigation supply the world’s leading producer of ostrich leather, feathers, and meat. One farmer—who sits on the board of the country’s ostrich industry group—told an investigator that Hermès, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Prada all buy feathers from that producer.
Another linked supplier’s own website names Gucci, Prada, Hermès, and Louis Vuitton as buyers of ostrich skin.
The Feather Industry Lied to Lady Gaga. Who Else Is It Misleading?
A worker at one farm told the investigator they supplied feathers for a Lady Gaga performance. She has also worn feathers at other events.
When Lady Gaga asked how the ostrich feathers used for her looks were obtained, she was reportedly told that the birds had naturally molted and workers had simply collected their feathers from the ground.
Although it’s impossible to confirm where every feather in every costume came from, PETA’s investigation exposes how the industry humane-washes ostrich feathers and lies to people about the violence used to obtain them.
Lady Gaga and anyone else who wears feathers is being deceived.
How You Can Help Ostriches Now
Every ostrich feather in fashion starts with violence. The feather trade and the skin trade are two sides of the same coin. Look closely at an Hermès Birkin bag made from ostrich skin and you’ll see rows of raised bumps. Those are follicles—the spots where workers ripped feathers out of an ostrich’s body.
The fashion industry takes their feathers first, then comes back for their skin and flesh, flipping them upside down, electroshocking them, and slitting their throats.
Choose kindness in your own closet by refusing to wear anything that comes from an animal. Stunning vegan feathers and animal-free fabrics already exist—and no one bleeds to make them.
Tell Dior and other brands to drop ostrich feathers and skins now—it takes 5 seconds.