Wool
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General Information
The headings are just a suggested starting point.
History
Though sheep were first domesticated 9000 to 11,000 years ago, evidence suggests they were not selectively bred to grow more wool until 6000 BCE. Their wild ancestors, known as mouflon, have short, hairy coats.
The first woolen garments are believed to date from 2000 to 3000 years after selective breeding began.
Numbers
According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations), over 1 billion sheep are farmed worldwide.[1] It is unclear how many are raised specifically for wool, particularly as many are used for both meat and wool.
Over 500 sheep breeds are used for wool production.
Is Wool Vegan?
The most widely accepted definition of veganism is as follows:
"Veganism is a way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of and cruelty to animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose."[2]
With this definition in mind, wool cannot be considered vegan because it involves the exploitation of animals for clothing. There is also considerable cruelty involved in wool production, as will be explained below. Additionally, we have no need for wool as there are other fabrics available which do not involve animal exploitation.
Harms to Sheep
Selective Breeding
Wild sheep grow exactly the right amount of wool to insulate them against the heat and the cold. This makes shearing unnecessary. However, domesticated sheep have been selectively bred to grow much more wool than necessary.
Some breeds, such as merinos, have been bred to have wrinkled skin. This is because the increased surface area means there is more wool per animal. Carrying this much wool can lead to overheating in hot weather, and even death from heat exhaustion.
Moisture and urine often gather in the folds of sheep skin. This attracts flies, which lay their eggs in the wrinkles. When the eggs hatch, the maggots begin to eat the sheep alive. This is known as “flystrike”.
Standard Practices
Shortly after birth, lambs have holes punched in their ears so tags can be inserted, and their tails are usually docked. Male lambs are castrated, sometimes by having an incision made in the scrotum and the testicles pulled out. In other cases, castration is done by cutting off the blood supply with a rubber ring until the testicles drop off. If this doesn't happen, farmers may cut off the testicles with clippers. These procedures are all routinely carried out without the use of anesthetic.
To prevent flystrike (described in the previous section), farmers may carry out a procedure called “mulesing”. This involves cutting away large chunks of skin from the backs of lambs’ legs and the area around their tails. Again, this is often done without anesthetic. The resulting scarred skin is smooth, and so less susceptible to flystrike. However, since the process leaves bloody wounds, flies often lay eggs there before the skin has time to heal.
Abuse and Neglect
Commercial sheep farms typically have very large flocks, often consisting of thousands of sheep. This makes it impossible for farmers to give the sheep individual attention, meaning injuries and diseases often go untreated.
Shearers are usually paid according to the number of sheep they shear rather than by the hour. This provides an incentive to work quickly, with little regard for animal welfare. For this reason, injuries are common. Skin is often cut or ripped off, as are tails, ears, and teats. When this happens, wounds are hastily sewn up with a needle and thread. The sheep are not given painkillers.
Investigations
Though some mistreatment occurs due to carelessness, undercover investigations conducted by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have also found that some shearers are deliberately abusive. The footage, filmed across four continents and almost 100 facilities, shows shearers standing on sheep as well as punching and kicking them. In the UK, shearers were filmed slamming the sheep's heads into the floor. Some sheep were recorded being hit in the face with electric clippers until they bled.
Others died after being violently handled during shearing, likely from shock. Some footage shows sheep being skinned alive. (I will be editing this to include much more information and reference specific investigations.)
These abuses were documented even on farms considered "sustainable", producing wool labelled as "responsibly sourced".
Unsuitable Climate
Wild sheep generally live in arid, mountainous areas, but domesticated sheep are often farmed in areas to which they are not suited. This can lead to health problems. For example, when sheep are farmed in damp lowland regions, they are prone to foot rot and other diseases. (More information to be added.)
Wild sheep are able to roam and find shelter from the elements. However, farmed sheep rarely have shelter provided. This leaves them vulnerable to both the heat and the cold. As a result, many lambs die of exposure before the age of eight weeks.
Live Export and Slaughter
Sheep which are no longer needed are sent to slaughter. Sheep from Australia, which produces around a quarter of the wool used worldwide, are typically sent to the Middle East or North Africa. They are transported live on crowded ships where diseases like conjunctivitis and salmonellosis are rife. Journeys often last several days, and sometimes weeks.
Some sheep are lame and have no choice but to lie on the feces-covered floors, where they are trampled by other sheep. The food onboard the ships is different to what the sheep are used to, and many become ill or die of starvation as a result. 19,407 sheep died during export in 2012 alone.
Many Middle Eastern countries have very little animal welfare legislation. When the ships dock, sheep are often thrown into the backs of trucks and dragged to slaughter by their legs or ears. Some sheep are bought by individuals who slaughter them at home, whilst others go to unregulated slaughterhouses. All are slaughtered using Halal methods, meaning their throats are slit while they are still conscious.
Wool as a By-Product
27 percent of wool is from slaughtered sheep, often from lambs slaughtered for meat. This wool is known as "pulled wool" and is considered to be inferior in quality.[3](I will be adding more information here.)
Humane Labels and Certifications
Responsible Wool Standard
The Responsible Wool Standard, or RWS, is a voluntary standard. This means companies and farmers can choose to be certified, but it is not required.[4]
The RWS does prohibit some of the most painful and abusive standard practices, such as mulesing. It also places restrictions on many others, though these restrictions are often vague. For example, the RWS guidelines state that harmful practices such as tail docking “Shall only be carried out if failure to do so would lead to welfare problems.” However, it is not specified in which situations this would apply.
Castration is permitted in males who will be kept beyond puberty. Farmers are even allowed to castrate lambs by using a rubber ring to cut off the blood supply to the testicles; this is considered to be the most painful method of castration. Pain relief is only mandatory when the castration is carried out surgically.
The RWS even allows the slaughter of sheep on farms, stating that "Acceptable methods of slaughter for sheep include: a) Firearm b) Penetrating and non-penetrating captive bolt guns." The slaughter of healthy animals is not prohibited.
RWS guidelines state that sheep must have adequate food and water available at all times. However, if this is not possible due to "exceptional circumstances", then “Arrangements shall be made to relocate, sell, or humanely dispose of the sheep to ensure their welfare is not adversely affected”.
Perhaps most worryingly, farmers are not required to install cameras, so there is no way of knowing whether the standards are being adhered to. Though unannounced inspections are occasionally carried out, it is doubtful whether this is enough to induce workers to comply at all times.
Sheep Sentience and Cognition
Studies have shown that sheep can recognize the faces of up to 50 other sheep, as well as human faces. They can remember faces for as long as two years, using a similar neural mechanism to humans. In one study, sheep responded emotionally when shown photographs of absent individuals (both sheep and human). The researchers concluded that this suggests sheep are capable of conscious thought.
The sheep were even able to distinguish between different emotions, such as anger and happiness, on human faces. In another study, researchers said the facial recognition abilities of sheep were on par with those of humans and primates.
Researchers in Australia have also discovered that when sheep are ill, they heal themselves by eating plants with medicinal effects. Ewes teach their lambs which plants to eat, and the knowledge may be passed down for several generations. The study showed that sheep kept returning to plants which had helped them before.
Environmental Consequences of Wool Production
Considerable land is cleared to graze sheep for wool production. This includes forested land. Clearing of land leads to soil erosion, increased soil salinity, and decreased biodiversity. In Patagonia, Argentina, sheep farming in the first half of the 20th century led to soil erosion and eventually desertification. Up to 93 percent of the land in the region is threatened by this process.
Additionally, sheep generate huge amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas which traps 72 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. In New Zealand, where sheep farming is a major industry, the methane produced by livestock is responsible for more than 90% of greenhouse gas emissions. Worldwide, the manure produced by sheep and other farm animals is also a major contributor to the greenhouse effect.
In 2017, a report entitled Pulse of the Fashion Industry was published by Global Fashion Agenda and the Boston Consulting Group. It concluded that overall, wool is one of the most environmentally damaging fabrics, and that its production causes more pollution than that of artificial fibers like rayon, acrylic, and polyester. Sheep farming is a known cause of water pollution, in large part due to fecal contamination.
Sheep "dip" also presents an environmental hazard. This toxic chemical is used to kill parasites on sheep. In Scotland, a study of 795 facilities concluded that 40 percent ran the risk of causing pollution. Many workers have also become seriously ill following exposure to sheep dip.
Harm to Wildlife
Animals which are considered to pose a threat to sheep are often killed by farmers. In Australia, where much of the world's wool is produced, kangaroos are considered to be pests. As a result, landowners are legally permitted to kill kangaroos on their own property. The government has even issued guidelines on the best way to kill a joey after its mother has been killed. They state that the joey should be killed with a “blow to destroy the brain” or decapitation.
Millions of coyotes are also killed each year in the US for eating livestock, including sheep.
See Also
Footnotes
- ↑ FAO. 2018. WORLD FOOD AND AGRICULTURE – STATISTICAL POCKETBOOK 2018. Rome. 254 pp. Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO
- ↑ “Definition of Veganism.” The Vegan Society. Accessed September 9th, 2019. https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism
- ↑ “Wool | Animal Fibre.” Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/topic/wool. Accessed 13 Sept. 2019.
- ↑ “About RWS.” Responsible Wool Standard, https://responsiblewool.org/about-rws/. Accessed 13 Sept. 2019.
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This article was originally authored by Bethany Chester. The contents may have been edited since that time by others.
