Sheep Aren’t ‘Lawnmowers’ – PETA Urges Prison to Roll Out ‘Carrot Wardens’ Instead

7 November 2024

Sheep Aren’t ‘Lawnmowers’ – PETA Urges Prison to Roll Out ‘Carrot Wardens’ Instead

Isle of Portland, Dorset – Following reports that HMP The Verne on the Isle of Portland is looking for a shepherd to graze sheep on its land, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has rushed an urgent letter to Kathryn Clements at the Ministry of Justice urging her to use the land to farm vegan-friendly produce instead.

“Instead of using sheep as lawnmowers, The Verne could give inmates the opportunity to serve as wardens of the land, cultivating sustainable, healthy produce like carrots – food that no one has to die for,” writes PETA Farming and Corporate Projects Liaison Jane Tredgett. “Becoming carrot wardens would boost their mental health, allow them to develop practical skills, and pique their interest in non-violent occupations.”

In the letter, the group notes that sheep exploited for their fleece are routinely abused on farms and in shearing sheds. PETA entities have shared exposés of 117 wool-industry operations around the world – including in the UK – that document workers kicking, punching, and slitting the throats of conscious, struggling sheep.

Raising sheep for wool also negatively impacts the environment. As ruminant animals, sheep produce large amounts of methane, a planet-warming greenhouse gas. And the grazing of sheep hinders conservation – leading to landscapes that are, as described by environmentalist Ben Goldsmith, “almost entirely stripped … of their green mantle”, as “trees, scrub, wildflowers, and birdsong are largely absent” and “[a]ll you find are sheep”. Conversely, removing animals farmed as food from the land increases biodiversity.

Each year, millions of lambs bred for their flesh die from exposure, malnutrition, or disease within days of birth, and survivors are typically slaughtered when they’re just 10 weeks old.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat, wear, or abuse in any other way” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview – recently launched a campaign urging the government to fund ethical and sustainable plant farming. Last year, the group also announced the winners of its first-ever Farming Awards. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0)20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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