Kuala Lumpur, April 19 (IANS): Activists of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) rights group on Tuesday staged a protest outside a store of Italian luxury fashion brand Prada in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur for using ostrich leather to make bags.

Three PETA protestors stood outside the shop and held life-size cutouts with the images of ostriches reproduced on one side, and the messages "Prada: Accessories to Murder" and "Bag the Cruel Ostrich Leather" printed on signs, EFE news reported.

The action followed an announcement by PETA on Monday the notifying media of their demonstration by saying: "PETA's life-size 'ostriches' want their skin back and will therefore stand guard outside the store at Pavilion Kuala Lumpur."

The release goes on to detail PETA's investigation into the harsh treatment of ostriches in South Africa, where one-year-old birds are "turned upside down in a stunner, are ejected to have their throats slit and have their feathers plucked out, creating the bumpy-textured skin in Prada's handbags and store sofas".