The wool industry kills millions of sheep.
Animal agriculture is hurting the planet.
Harming animals
Lambing
The wool industry practises winter lambing and selective breeding in order to increase profits. Largely as a result of this, 10 to 15 million newborn lambs die in the first 48 hours of their lives every Australian lambing season due to exposure, starvation and neglect.
Meat industry
All sheep who are bred for their wool are also slaughtered for their meat, so are often defined as ‘dual-purpose’. Some of the wool we wear comes from 6-9 month old lambs shorn before they are slaughtered, others from 5-6 year old ‘cast for age’ sheep.
Mutilation
In Australia, it is industry standard practice to perform painful procedures like cutting off the long tails of lambs and castrating them, with a knife and no pain relief. Recommended farming codes of practice do not discourage this, and farmed animals are exempt from legal protection.
Harming the planet
Land clearing and damage
In Australia, more native land is cleared for animal grazing than for anything else. Land clearing results in a loss of biodiversity and the displacement of native animals, increasing the risks of species endangerment and extinction. Farming animals like sheep damages and erodes land, leading to desertification risks.
Greenhouse gas emissions
You might be surprised by how many more greenhouse gas emissions are emitted by a wool knit than a cotton one. But it’s not so surprising, considering that animal agriculture contributes greatly to our global emissions. Methane, which is more potent than carbon in the short-term, is especially prevalent in animal farming.
Lost opportunity to rewild
Because animal agriculture is less efficient in its use of land, we lose the opportunity to rewild land when we farm animals. Rewilding is a natural solution to a human-made ecological crisis. It allows for carbon sequestration, and the support of flourishing biodiversity, which is critical to a healthy planet full of wildlife.