The Texas farm that supplies crocodile skins to French handbag maker Hermes is operating legally, said the agency overseeing its practices, following accusations by Peta and British singer Jane Birkin that it has a “cruel” slaughtering practices.

A Peta video from June 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 said 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-baptise the Birkin Croco until better practices in line with international norms can be put in place.”

The Birkin bag was created in 1984 by Hermes in honour of the famed singer and ex-girlfriend of Serge Gainsbourg, and is, still today, one of the world’s most exclusive luxury items.

The bag is beloved by stars such as Victoria Beckham and comes in calf, ostrich, lizard as well as crocodile. It can cost between $10,000 (Dh36,700) and over $100,000, with waiting lists to buy it famously stretching into the years.

Peta said it takes three crocodile belly skins to make one handbag. In their expose, at the Lone Star Alligator Farms, Peta shows abattoir employees referring to live crocodiles and alligators as “watch straps”.

Steve Lightfoot, a spokesman for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, which regulates the commercial production and harvesting of alligators in Texas, said that Lone Star Alligator Farms has a current permit and is operating legally.

Peta filed a complaint on February 25 with the TPWD seeking revocation of Lone Star Alligator Farms’ permit, which the agency declined to do following an unannounced facility inspection on March 2 by several state game wardens.

“Our folks did indicate this site was fairly impeccable as far as the conditions, the record-keeping,” Lightfoot said.

The game wardens found some minor code violations, related to height of a structure and one alligator with a mild bacterial infection, leading to misdemeanour citations, Lightfoot said.

“We don’t have any issues with Lone Star Alligator Farms,” Lightfoot said on Wednesday about the status of the company.

The Peta investigation, however, found “filthy conditions” at the facility, said Kathy Guillermo, a senior vice president for the animal rights group.

“Our investigator in Texas spent most of the day standing in knee deep, filthy, putrid water that had as many as 55 alligators in it, when according to the state’s own statute it should have no more than six,” Guillermo said.

Hermes said it “respects and shares [Birkin’s] emotions” and was “shocked by the images recently broadcast”. An investigation, it says, is underway.

While the fashion powerhouse acknowledges that the Texas farm supplies it with crocodile skins, Hermes says they aren’t used specifically for the Birkin bag. Hermes also uses croc for watchstraps and other bags.