Dr. Dre, Oscar de la Renta Under Fire From PETA for Fur-Lined Headphones

Animal rights group PETA has set its sights on a pair of luxury headphones from Beats by Dre.

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The limited edition headphones, designed in collaboration by Dr. Dre and Oscar de la Renta, cost $695, and are covered in fox fur.

The headphones are described on Oscar de la Renta’s website as covered “in luxe silver fox.”

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“Form meets function as these high performance headphones deliver rich, full sound from a portable and stylish unit,” reads the description.

A PETA official, Michelle Cho, sent an open letter to Dr. Dre, urging him to “keep fur and exotic-animal skins out of your Beats by Dre designs.”

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“With so many fashionable, cruelty-free materials available these days, we hope that you will keep animals in mind and choose not to use fur or exotic skins in your collection,” added the letter.

A rep for Dre did not immediately return request for comment.
 
Read the full letter provided to The Hollywood Reporter from PETA below:

Dear Dre,
 
I hope this message finds you well. As you may know, PETA is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than 3 million members and supporters dedicated to the protection of animals. You have many fans here.
 
We're writing today after reading about your new fox-fur headphones design with Oscar de la Renta. We wanted to get in touch to urge you to keep fur and exotic-animal skins out of your Beats by Dre designs. Foxes, minks, rabbits, and other animals—including cats and dogs—are bludgeoned, genitally electrocuted, strangled with wire nooses, drowned, and even skinned alive for their pelts. Most animals killed for their fur are slaughtered in China, where there are no penalties for those who abuse animals on fur farms. Please take a moment to view this short video on the fur trade, hosted by actor Eva Mendes: http://www.peta.org/FeatureEvaMendes.asp.
 
With so many fashionable, cruelty-free materials available these days, we hope that you will keep animals in mind and choose not to use fur or exotic skins in your collection. You'd be joining designers such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Bouwer, and Vivienne Westwood, who have banned fur from their designs.
 
You have a tremendous amount of influence on young people—won't you please consider using your platform to advocate kindness toward animals by pledging never to design with real fur and exotic skins?
 
Thank you so much for your time and attention. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me.
 
With kind regards,
 
Michelle Cho
PETA