Photo: Corbis Hermés said Wednesday it was probing claims of cruelty at crocodile and alligator farms that supply the French fashion house with skins for its luxury handbags and accessories. British singer Jane Birkin on Tuesday asked Hermés to remove her name from the iconic crocodile skin Birkin bag after rights group PETA published an expose on “cruel” treatment of the animals at farms in Texas and Zimbabwe. PETA filmed disturbing images of crocodiles in Zimbabwe and alligators in Texas — whose skin is used to make watch-straps — in which they live crammed into barren concrete pits before being “cruelly hacked” to death.
