The Indianapolis journal., 1903-03-29
A LEATHER TRADE TRICK.
Animals Skinned Alive to Make the
Hide Sell Better.
London Truth.

The following statement, in the accuracy
OF which my readers may have full conf
dence, shows that a barbarous practice of
hay1ng alive goats and kids prevails in diff
ferent parts of India. 1t is satisfactory to
know that the Calcutta Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is stirring
in the matter, but, the writer points out
in his concluding paragraph, it is almost
impossible for voluntary society to deal
with practice of this kind in all parts of
India, and the government ought to come
kids.
The export from Calcutta of goatskins
dried in the hair is a very large one
amounting to more than million skins per
month. The skins go to American and Eu-
ropean leather dressers, the Americans
taking by far the larger proportion. For a
long time past the practice has prevailed
of stretching the skins lengthwise while
fresh in order TO increase the measured
length, and with Ii the apparent value To
meet ii the American morocco manufactur-
ers imposed minimum length of twenty
eight inches from square of neck to foot
Of tall as a standard which skins must
pass in order to go into the regular as
sortment. Upon this the Hindu promptly
devised means to force the length of small
goatskins up to the required twenty-eight
inches, one of the means being the diabol-
ically cruel one of fiaying the head at any
rate, alive, the perpetrator believing that
he could thereby add inch two to the
length of the neck and thus make few
more annas per skin.
The existence OF tnlS Drdctlce mas been
known or suspected for some time among
the buyers for export But ii came out
more definitely toward the end of 1901
through a statement in Calcutta news
paper and a reference to the practice in
the report of the Calcutta Society for the
Prevention of Cruelthy to Animals. Fuller
information has since been sought through
the chief goatskin buyers in the Calcutta
market, and certain of the houses princi-
pally concerned in the American trade have
taken steps to have the twenty-eight-inch
rule authoritatively rescinded, and all
stretching of skins for artificial length dis
countenanced. The local Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has taken
the matter up, and as the result of it's ac-
Calcutta where this form of cruelty was
habitually practiced were discovered and
the municipal inspector of slaughter houses
has been invested with authority to arrest
without warrant" The society has also
addressed the lieutenant governor of Ben
gal on the subject and made certain re-
quests or suggestions for strengthening the
existing powers for coping with the prac-
tice.
1t will be seen therefore, that the houses
in the trade have, in measure, done what
they can to stop the practice, and the Cal
cutta Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals is also acting to the extent of
it's powers. 1t is difficult however to dis
cover. to what extent the practice prevails
in the various goatskin cole citing districts
up country, and the arm Of the Calcutta
society does not reach beyond the imme-
diate suburbs of the city of Calcutta IL is
very much to be hoped. therefore, that the
induced to recognize and assist the effort
that is being made to root out a form of
diabolical cruelty which is a disgrace to
the country in which ii prevails.