The global leather industry processes hides primarily from cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats, with welfare implications across the full supply chain from farming to slaughter to tannery conditions.
Leather supply chain welfare extends from farming and slaughter conditions to the specific welfare challenges of exotic leather species. The largest welfare impact comes from the farming and slaughter systems that produce hides from cattle, calves, and sheep, which share all the welfare challenges of those industries. Exotic leather species raise additional concerns: farmed crocodilians are confined under conditions that prevent natural thermoregulation, movement, and social behaviour, while wild-caught species face trapping and transport welfare harm. Plant-based and alternative leather materials are advancing rapidly in both quality and cost, offering a welfare-positive transition pathway for the industry.