You’ll Be Shocked by the Way Wool Is REALLY Produced
Sheep were mutilated, kicked, cut and stabbed on farms that sell wool to a UK company that supplies JCrew, Coach and others.
Sixty per cent of the wool produced in Chile, including wool from the farms you see in this video, is sold to UK-based Standard Wool Ltd. If you buy wool, this is what you could be supporting.
Lambs Torn From Their Mothers
An eyewitness documented that lambs were separated from their mothers soon after they were born and cried out pitifully.
Lambs jumped through the fence in an attempt to return to their mothers’ sides, but workers dropped them back over the fence to keep them apart.
Mutilated Without Pain Relief
Workers notched and punched holes in the lambs’ ears. To remove their tails, workers either cut them off with a dull knife, sometimes requiring up to five slashes, or tightly banded them – one worker told the eyewitness that banded tails would fall off after a month. All this was done without any pain relief.
Workers used this device to punch holes through lambs’ ears.
This lamb’s tail was cut off without any pain relief.
Cut, Kicked, and Struck With a Rake
Sheep were crammed tightly into sheds before being sheared. As is common in the wool industry, rough, fast shearing left many sheep cut and bleeding. One worker poured oil on a sheep’s bleeding wound, and another sprayed a sheep’s wounds with insecticide. Workers also kicked, shoved, stomped, and stepped on them, as well as striking them with a rake to push them out of the shearing shed. The eyewitness never saw the animals receive any veterinary care, even for gaping wounds.
Sheep were packed into tight sheds before being sheared.
Fast, rough shearing left sheep cut and bleeding.
Destined for Slaughter
Sheep who were no longer wanted for their wool – including the animals seen below – were marked with paint to indicate that they should be sent to slaughter. Workers also tightly tied some unwanted lambs’ legs together and shoved the young animals onto a flat-bed truck bound for slaughter, where they thrashed around, banging their heads against the floor as they tried to escape.
This sheep was marked for slaughter.
Some lambs’ legs were tied, and they were loaded onto a truck bound for slaughter.
Killed and Skinned Alive
Workers stabbed fully conscious sheep in the neck. The sheep kicked and struggled as they bled to death. One worker took out his mobile phone while a sheep – pinned down by his knee – fought for her life.
This dying sheep seen below was carried into a room to be skinned and continued to kick for two minutes. Video footage shows one sheep who was literally skinned alive.
A worker cut the throats of fully conscious sheep who were no longer wanted for wool, causing them to kick and struggle as they bled out.
Sheep were lined up after their throats had been cut, and some of them continued to move for several minutes before dying.
Help Us Stop This Cruelty
The cruelty documented at these Chilean sheep farms is not unique, and similar abuses have been documented in the United States, Argentina and Australia – the world’s largest wool exporter.
Don’t forget the gentle sheep who suffer in the wool industry all around the world – choose clothing that doesn’t contain wool.