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Perry Holobach
November 18, 2011
Senior Project
Ms. Tillery
Mistreatment and Abuse of Sheep in Australia
Australia is the leading producer of Merino wool with New Zealand as the second largest
producer. These sheep are bred primarily for their wool and their meat. When they become too
old or of no use to the farmers they are sent off to be slaughtered. Sheep are transported in tightly
packed containers; most sheep will die during transportation due to malnutrition and
dehydration. Any sheep born during the journey will also die, usually from being trampled to
death. (Action for Our Planet) “In any given year, 99-120 million sheep are kept for their meat
and wool in Australia alone, and 10-15 million will face the slaughterer‟s knife.” (Animal
Liberation Victoria) Even in the slaughterhouse they find no relief, most deaths should be quick
and painless for the animal, unfortunately for the sheep this is not the case. Improper procedure
and methods lead to the inhumane deaths of the sheep. When interviewed, most slaughterhouse
workers did not know the proper amount of voltage to stun the sheep long enough to kill them.
This results in the sheep waking up and feeling immense pain, specifically bleeding out, before
their throats are slit.
Sheep are abused and mistreated from even before the day they are born. Some types of
wool are taken from the sheep‟s skin while still inside the mother, this form of abortion takes
place close to the time of birth and will kill the lamb and the mother. The type of wool is called
Karakul, literally fur from lambs, and is the most expensive type of wool because of the harsh
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procedure performed to obtain it. This slaughter can also take place a few days after birth when
the wool is at its softest stage, the lamb is then killed and skinned. Also, male sheep are castrated
typically through the use of a tight rubber ring to cut off blood supply to the testicles, one of the
most painful methods possible, without anesthetics. (Beauty without Cruelty) After each process
they are bathed in toxic pesticides. Sheep ears will be poked through, their tails will be cut off
and they will be museled to keep maggots from eating them. (Wool as Fashion) Mulesing is a
process in which the skin around the anus and hind end is cut off, the sheep will then heal and
have a smoother skin. However, this cutting of the skin is not considered abuse; it is to keep
them from being infested by flies that produce maggots that will eventually eat the sheep from
the inside out and typically results in death. The maggots are produced from flies laying their
eggs in the moist folds of the sheep‟s skin. Often times the procedure, like the castration is done
without anesthetics. The method itself is not abusive; the way in which the procedure is
performed is abuse. With sharp tools and harsh treatment by farmers, the process turns into a
horrific experience for the sheep.
A common misconception is that sheep need to be shorn in order to stay cool and prevent
them from overheating in the summer, however, this is untrue. Merino sheep are selectively bred
for certain traits. For example, the sheep that produce the most wool will be bred with similar
sheep, the few that produce very little wool will not be allowed to mate. The sheep selected to
have thicker wool are then shorn too close to the skin, and their skin will usually come off in the
process. This leaves them exposed to the weather and disease as most of the farms they are raised
on are not clean and spacious. As a result most sheep will become emaciated and die. Since
farmers are paid by the weight and amount of wool, and not by the cleanliness or methods
acquired, it is not a concern how many sheep are abused and mistreated during the process.
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According to Animal Liberation Victoria, an estimated one million sheep die [within] 30 days
after shearing, this is from exposure to the weather resulting in hypothermia and other
conditions. When a sheep is genetically engineered for its wool, it causes the sheep to become
dependent on humans, no longer can they shed their own coats during the summer, or grow
thicker coats for winter. Sheep are stuck with what they have and farmers relieve them of too
much wool this essentially kills them.
Every sheep farmer has one goal: to have hundreds of sheep no matter the cost. More
sheep mean more money. This has turned farmers to modern science, and has driven them to
genetic engineering and selective breeding. Due to genetic engineering sheep are being bred for
their wool, their endurance and their offspring. It is not common for sheep to have more than one
lamb a season, however farmers are pushing the limits and forcing sheep to have two or three
lambs a season. (The Big Cover Up) Occasionally, the lamb is too big to be birthed by the
mother and its front legs will be cut off while in the womb. This process is known as
embryotomy and is practiced more often than it should be. If anyone was performing this
procedure to a dog or a cat, it would be considered animal cruelty and punishable by law with
fines, the sheep are not so lucky.
It has also been said that sheep are just another dumb animal, here for slaughter to keep
us warm and keep us fed. This is not the case. Neurologists have conducted studies with sheep
and determined them to be similar to humans, dogs and cats. Sheep have the same central
emotional center people do, and react to stimuli in the same ways. (PETA) One onlooker at a
slaughterhouse described the experience later, saying the sheep were [visibly shaken], that they
could „smell the blood‟ had „crazy, wild eyes‟ and „made sounds like crying babies‟. (Animal
Liberation Victoria) This is contrary to the popular belief that sheep and cows are ignorant of
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their fate and die dumb and happy. Documentaries have shown cows being herded to their
deaths, some with broken legs and others too scared to walk; they are pushed forward by cranes
and men to be killed systematically. This is no different than the sheep; they are pushed and
pulled until they are killed without a second thought.
There have been a few attempts to save the sheep, businesses established to save the
sheep but those businesses were shut down in Australia. Animal cruelty laws have done little to
deter the farmers and sheep shearers from stopping their abusive ways. However, with the
production of synthetic fibers closely resembling wool some heat has been taken off sheep,
however people will always need wool. Most consumers do not even realize they are buying real
wool from abused sheep. Thousands of clothing products have wool and wool substitutes, and
people do not look for these components, or they are just ignorant of the abuse. Other solutions
to combat the abuse are new breeds of sheep with less wrinkly skin; in order to help prevent
mulesing. Anesthetics are available for sheep that endure this painful procedure; however,
Australian law does not require farmers to use them. In modern society popular clothing stores
such as Abercrombie and Fitch, H&M, Perry Ellis and Liz Claiborne are boycotting the use of
Merino wool. (Greenopedia) Instead of wool, these designers are turning towards more eco-
friendly products, including a type of wool that is made from recycled plastic.
There is an emerging method of shearing that does not require sharp tools, called
bioclipping. This process requires only a net and a protein administered into the veins. The
protein occurs naturally in sheep, it is the protein that causes them to shed their wool naturally.
By injecting it in a concentrated amount, it causes the wool to stop growing for a period and then
resume naturally. The break that occurs allows shearers to simply pull the wool off, as if the
sheep was wearing a coat. Instead of having to manually shear the sheep and tear off the skin in
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the process, the sheep are much more comfortable. This method does not harm the sheep at all
and the protein injected is metabolized by the sheep in a matter of hours. The nets used act as a
second coat, and protect the sheep while the wool grows back, and prevents the sheep from being
exposed to weather. The only downside to bioclipping is the cost and also how long it takes to
set. The sheep‟s wool will not be ready for four months. The cost of materials alone would deter
any sheep farmer who can do it himself for free. Additionally the nets used to encase the sheep
are not available for all shapes and sizes of sheep, including the genetically altered large sheep.
Also, the procedure can only be performed by a BIOCLIP certified representative or by a farmer
who has been certified. (BIOCLIP®) Despite the deterrents, bioclipping offers more than
protection for sheep. Some of the perks are the enhancement of wool quality, reduced risk of fly
strike (reducing the need for mulesing), improve growth rates and an increased wool value. In
essence, the solution has made the problem worse, with the restrictions and the cost farmers are
less inclined to use the product.
The amount of sheep raised has caused more problems than only the abuse of sheep. Due
to higher numbers of sheep, there is a shortage of areas to graze. Farmers buy acres of land to
keep their sheep on, and allow them to eat the land dry. This deprives the other animals that need
the land and the grass, mostly kangaroos. Per Australian law, any landowner can do what they
want to „pests‟ they consider to be harmful to their livestock. (Australian Government) As a
result, some five million kangaroos have been slaughtered. Farmers take it upon themselves to
rid their lands of kangaroos instead of allowing them to share the grass, when kangaroos do not
harm sheep.
In the needle felting industry most felters will use corriedale wool instead of chunky
wool from Australia. This wool does come from New Zealand, but is acquired from a different
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type of sheep that is less abused than the Merino sheep. (Woolcrafting) Felters have found
different kinds of wool to use, as well as some substances that are much more unique. A style of
craft has been born that uses animal hair such as dogs and cats to create the same felted animals
as wool.
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Works Cited
Action for our Planet. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.actionforourplanet.com/wool/
4548164102>.
Animal Liberation Victoria. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.alv.org.au/issues/
sheep.php>.
Australian Government. N.p., May 2008. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.dfat.gov.au/facts/
animal_welfare.html>.
Beauty without Cruelty. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.bwcsa.co.za/issues/animals-
in-fashion/wool-as-fashion>.
“BIOCLIP® NATURAL WOOL HARVESTING SYSTEM.” BIOCLIP. Merial, 2004. Web. 17
Nov. 2011. <http://au.merial.com/pdf/bioclip_mer0160_sales_brochure.pdf>.
“Felting in History .” Wandering Sheep. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2011.
<http://wanderingsheep.com/blog1/about-felt/felting-in-history-is-needle-felting-
period/>.
Galbraith, Fiona. “Died in the Wool.” The Big Cover Up. Viva!, 2009. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.
<http://bigcoverup.org.uk/wool/>.
Inside the Wool Industry. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011. <http://www.thenazareneway.com/
vegetarian/inside_the_wool_industry.htm>.
Melton, Aria. “The Dark Side of the Wool Industry.” Greenopedia. N.p., n.d. Web. 7 Nov. 2011.
<http://greenopedia.com/tidbits/the-dark-side-of-the-wool-industry/>.
