PHOTOS: Don’t Pull the Wool Over Your Eyes, Say Blindfolded Protesters

Blindfolded and cradling a sheared and apparently blood-spattered “lamb”, these three PETA members were a striking sight in Edinburgh this morning. Their message to shoppers on Princes Street was “Don’t pull the wool over your eyes”, a reference to the immense suffering inflicted on sheep used by the wool industry, including violent abuse in shearing sheds, painful mutilations and frightening deaths in abattoirs. The trio urged passers-by to open their eyes to the cruelty inherent in wool production and to cross wool items off their shopping lists. A recent exposé of the wool industry in the US and Australia – the source of 90 per cent of the world’s merino wool – revealed that workers violently punched scared sheep in the face, stamped and stood on the animals’ heads and necks and beat and jabbed them in the face with electric clippers and a hammer. Some sheep even died from the abuse, including one whose neck was twisted until the animal died. Closer to home, millions of British lambs die within days of being born, and those who survive may end their days in Middle Eastern slaughterhouses after being shipped abroad by the horrific live-export industry. Please spare a thought for sheep this winter by refusing to buy items made from their hair. Instead, choose from the many warm, animal-friendly fabrics on offer today!