Leather business suffers over capybara
13/05/2008
A tannery in the Argentinian town of Mercedes has been ordered to close and a leathergoods business run by the same company in the town has been demolished.
Reports suggest the local authorities were concerned about local air quality, but the action of destroying the leathergoods is an unusual step for them to have taken.
Local media have suggested that the main issue may have been that the shop stocked belts and footwear made from capybara hide. Stocks of capybara in most breeding grounds in South America is healthy and the animal does not appear on protected species lists.
The hide of the animal, the largest rodent in the world, has long been prized, especially for glove manufacture.
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