Live Art or Cruelty?

For those that haven't heard, there's a new art form in town. Well, in Mexico really: live art. During Mayan times women used to bejewel their beetles and wear them as live jewelry as a status symbol. Today not much has changed as women have tried to cross over bringing jeweled Maquech beetles from Mexico embellished as brooches for women to wear. The beetles have their shells encrusted with gems which are also attached to a chain-linked pin. The women pins herself and the beetle is free to roam around on his short leash, and on her lapel.

Beetle Brooch

PETA has been up in arms about the recent jewelry trend that actually dates back thousands of years. While the bugs actually aren't specifically being harmed by this practice since it's only on their shells which doesn't hurt them, they are being taken from their natural environment which no doubt is upsetting the ecosystem, and being forced to be worn on a random person's jacket for hours on end; AKA - A literal fashion slave. They're just like any other living creature; they need to eat and drink, live out their productive little beetle lives, and go to the bathroom. 

I get the sneaking suspicion that Maquech poop on the collar isn't as glamorous as an encrusted shell.