Sam Setter's 'Pills': Over and Again

The EU announced that hides and skins could be removed from the EUDR directive's deforestation commodities. Could! Last month, like many others, I thought that the decision had been taken, but that doesn’t seem to be correct. The final decision will be taken after public feedback. Yeah, you read this right: after public feedback. As if the public is capable of making such a very technical judgement.
What does the public know about hides and skins in general? How can the public express an informed opinion about the existence or non-existence of a link between leather and deforestation when their knowledge, I mean knowledge, not hearsay, about animal farming, hides and skins, leather, and deforestation is virtually zero?
This feedback might or might not change the decision of the EU commission, even if the general idea is that it will not change. All the efforts of the industry to educate and inform the public are like a minuscule drop into the ocean.
Lots of information that has been published by our industry is based on science and facts, but in the era of social media, science don’t count. How many people were reached by the World Leather Day campaign? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? Nah! How many people read the social media posts of our industry? Ten thousand? A hundred thousand? I don’t think so! Out of these readers how many understand the arguments of the industry and how many change their opinion from NGO promoted anti-leather to pro-leather or become/remain fervent buyers of leather? Fifty percent? Would you believe that? No way!

In reality the public couldn’t care less whether hides and skins are included or excluded from the EUDR. Those who express their opinion in the EU feedback request are a tiny minority of the world population and most are guided by ONGs who, with a rare exception, all take a position against the leather industry for various motivations like animal welfare, environment, politics, culinary preferences and whatever else, all adjusted to the end goal they want to reach.  No objectivity. These anti-leather people, except of course those of our industry who have expressed their vote, are the majority of voters and will all express a negative vote, and to think that the EU Commission may take such an unhinged and unprofessional vote even into consideration to either include or exclude hides and skins from the EUDR Directive is mind-boggling! These NGOs and other anti-leather groups outrange by far our industry in terms of public support. There are tens of small NGOs that are financed directly or indirectly by the taxpayers and charity donors, who tell their followers to hate leather. Their followers are counted by the tens of millions, and remember, the followers of the leather industry are in the lower hundred thousands. Imagine that we have to contrast these masses with our World Leather Day, with our technical and scientific posts? The result is easy to predict: we lose!

Last but not least, haven’t you noticed that organisations that claim to support the leather industry are totally absent from the battle against the inclusion of hides and skins in the EUDR Directive? I asked both LWG and LN by mail if and in what way they have been involved to exclude hides from the EUDR Directive. Unsurprisingly they have not answered! Very simple because they silently approve of the inclusion of leather in EUDR Directive, unlike SLF who have been actively and constructively engaged together with the industry in favour of the exclusion.

Why doesn't the EU commission conduct a public feedback about the exorbitant salaries and privileges of EU parliamentarians and employees, about their travel and living expenses? Much more useful!