“Mulesing” is a gruesome procedure in which workers cut chunks of flesh off lambs’ hindquarters with shears in a crude attempt to address problems that are caused by breeding them to produce excessive amounts of wool. When PETA first exposed this mutilation of sheep in the wool industry in 2013, it prompted international outrage—and now, five years later, New Zealand has banned the practice.
Under that country’s new law, mulesing is a criminal offense punishable by a $5,000 fine for an individual offender and a $25,000 one for a business. Even veterinary clinics using pain relief aren’t allowed to perform the procedure. The country started phasing out mulesing in 2007 as a result of mounting pressure from compassionate consumers.
PETA persuaded a long list of leading retailers and designers—including Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, H&M, American Eagle, Liz Claiborne, Hugo Boss, Perry Ellis International, Coldwater Creek, and many others—to pledge not to use wool from mulesed lambs. Joaquin Phoenix, Chrissie Hynde, Morrissey, and numerous other celebrities joined the cause, and PETA supporters held protests around the world.
But the end of mulesing in New Zealand doesn’t mean that wool can now be considered “humane”—as PETA’s latest video exposé shows.
Earlier this year, an eyewitness worked on a sheep farm in Victoria, Australia—the country is the world’s largest wool exporter—and found that the farm manager and workers were mutilating terrified lambs in assembly-line fashion. This wasn’t a case of a few “bad apples”—the mutilations are actually standard practice in the industry.
Workers punched holes in lambs’ ears and cut and burned off their tails with a hot knife—without painkillers—causing them to writhe in agony as flames shot up from their flesh.
Male lambs were castrated with tight rings that were placed around their scrotums so that their testicles would eventually shrivel up and fall off. If they don’t fall off soon enough, shearers just cut them off with clippers.
And yes, workers mulesed terrified lambs—even though Australian wool industry officials promised to phase out the practice by 2010. Eight years after this deadline, most lambs in Australia are still subjected to this torment.
All these mutilations took place in full view of the lambs’ frantic mothers. When they were done, workers dropped the lambs to the ground, and the young animals cried out as they ran in search of their mothers amid the flock.
The abuse of sheep is entrenched in the global wool industry. Previous exposés by PETA and our international affiliates have shown how shearers—who are paid by volume, not by the hour—race against the clock. They lose their tempers over small delays and often take out their frustrations on terrified, struggling sheep—dragging them by the legs, punching and kicking them, slamming them to the floor, and more.
PETA will keep working to end all abuse of sheep. You can make a difference by pledging not to buy wool and opting for warm and cozy cotton flannel, polyester fleece, or other vegan materials instead.
Please also take a moment to ask Patagonia to drop wool. The company has twice suspended wool purchases following PETA exposés of its suppliers. But now, it’s back at it again, buying from a source that it won’t disclose.
