By Sanjeev Srivastava in Bombay

One of the largest animal rights organisation in the world - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) - has launched a world-wide campaign against the Indian leather industry - with the backing of ex-Baywatch star Pamela Anderson Lee.

According to a Peta spokesperson, millions of cows are killed every year to produce cheap leather goods which are much in demand in the west.

A video released by Peta activists has a narration by Pamela Anderson Lee asking people to think twice before they buy their next leather jacket, belt, pair of shoes or gloves.

The glamorous former star of the American soap opera Baywatch is reported to have agreed to voice the video after seeing footage secretly shot by Peta activists in India over the past year.

The video shows graphic images of dead and dying cattle being unloaded from trucks and unscrupulous dealers deliberately crippling healthy animals so that they could be declared fit for slaughter.

The animal rights group is also launching a website that will be promoted by Indian film stars as part of its awareness campaign.

Contrasting reactions

For Indians, the involvement of Pamela Anderson Lee will generate contrasting reactions.

While she is fairly popular among some middle-class satellite television viewers, her appeal is unlikely to be heeded by many poorer people, or the captains of industry who have much at stake in the booming Indian leather industry.

The Indian leadership for its part is unlikely to take any decisive action in relation to the slaughter of cows, which has been a highly contentious issue in the country for many years.

Many right-wing Hindu organisations such as the RSS have carried out campaigns against the killing of cows, which are revered in the Hindu faith.

Most slaughtering is carried out by Muslims on behalf of the leather trade, which has a turnover of millions of dollars a year.