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| Did that soccer ball used to be someone? If it’s made of leather, it was probably once a steer who spent his last days on a crowded feedlot, before being crammed onto a truck and taken to the slaughterhouse. Some animals are trampled or freeze to death on the trucks after traveling for days without food or water. Steer-ike! Most leather used for pads, gloves, shoes, balls, and other game gear comes from steers, but it can also come from horses, lambs, goats, worn-out dairy cows, or even kangaroos (killed by sheep ranchers in Australia) or dogs and cats (killed for their meat in China). Since most leather isn’t labeled, there’s no way to know where (or what animal) it came from. Choose “Syn” Over Skin High-tech synthetic fabrics are tougher and lighter than leather, and they’re water-repellent, too. Most balls now come in synthetic materials, and Nike and other athletic-shoe companies offer lots of synthetic styles. |
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 Nonleather sporting equipment is out there, you just may have to do a little snooping and label-reading to find it. Contact PETA for our free list of suppliers, or download the list at PETAKids.com. Be sure to ask your coach to use only nonleather gear. |
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