Will Everyone in the Village of Wool Get a Free Blanket?

For Immediate Release:

21 November 2018

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

WILL EVERYONE IN THE VILLAGE OF WOOL GET A FREE BLANKET?

PETA Asks Parish Councillors to Change Wool’s Name to ‘Vegan Wool‘

Wool – Today, PETA sent a letter to Wool Parish Council with an unusual request: change the name of the Dorset village to Vegan Wool. The suggestion follows the release of two PETA Asia investigations revealing rampant, systemic cruelty to sheep in the British wool industry.

In the letter, PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – notes that the name change would raise awareness of the many animal- and Earth-friendly vegan alternatives to wool available today, from hemp and coconut fibres treated with enzymes extracted from the oyster mushroom to organic cotton, bamboo, and even banana bark. The group has offered to provide any household in the village that requests one with a cosy cruelty-free blanket if the change is implemented.

“Changing Wool’s name to Vegan Wool would not only inspire local people to seek out cruelty-free clothing but also show a little compassion for the gentle sheep who are torn apart for wool,” says PETA Director Elisa Allen. “PETA is encouraging parish councillors to make this change and set a precedent of respect for animals for the rest of England to follow.”

Video footage from the investigations, available here and here, shows shearers punching sheep in the face, stamping and standing on their heads and necks, and beating and jabbing them in the face with electric clippers. Shearers left large, bloody wounds on sheep’s bodies as a result of fast, rough shearing and stitched up gaping wounds with a needle and thread but no pain relief. One farmer was filmed dragging two injured sheep who were unable to walk into a shed, where he left them to suffer without care. They eventually died. Several others died during shearing from possible shock resulting from the rough handling – or what one farmer called a “heart attack”.

PETA’s letter is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.

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