Singer Jane Birkin says no to use of her name on Hermes croc bag

British singer Jane Birkin has asked Hermes to take her name off the crocodile-skin versions of the iconic Birkin handbag, after being contacted by an animal-rights group over "cruel" slaughtering practices.

A June video by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals shows several reptiles at a Texas farm that supplies crocodile skins to Hermes left twitching in a bloody ice container to die after being shot with a captive bolt gun and cut with a knife.

Birkin says in a statement obtained on Wednesday that she was "alerted to the cruel practices ... to make Hermes handbags carrying my name" and has "asked Hermes to de-baptize the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place".