I was appalled to learn that American Express offers items made from exotic-animal skins through its Membership Rewards program, even though exposés have revealed that crocodiles raised and skinned for handbags (like the ones featured in American Express' Premium Collection) are confined to restrictive, filthy concrete enclosures—some narrower than the length of their own bodies—without access to sunshine, fresh air, or even basic veterinary care. These fully conscious animals are then hacked open, their vertebrae are dislocated, and metal rods are shoved into their heads in an attempt to kill them so that their skins can be peeled off and used for accessories like those offered in American Express' Membership Rewards program.

PETA has exposed cruelty at reptile farms on three continents, and the story is always the same: grim, close confinement and a violent death. I urge American Express to replace these items immediately with luxurious vegan accessories that aren't products of horrific pain and suffering to animals.