Why You Should Care About Sheep
The life of a sheep farmed for their wool
Discover the difference between the life of sheep farmed for their wool versus sheep living free by using the slider on the image above.
A keen memory and flocking for safety
These kind and sensitive beings form deep bonds with their flockmates. Sadly, sheep's loyalty towards their flockmates is often mistaken for lack of intelligence. People often use “sheep” to insult people who unthinkingly follow, stick with the crowd, or don’t think for themselves. In reality, sheep’s tendency to stick together stems from an ability to form lifelong social bonds and rely on one another for safety as prey animals.
Like us, sheep are capable of remembering knowledge and experiences. Sheep are estimated to be able to memorize at least 50 individual faces. One study indicated that sheep can remember a complex maze for up to 22 weeks.
You know that cute little happy dance and furious tail wagging your dog does when they see their leash? How about the purring and meowing that starts when you crack open a can of cat food? Like our beloved companion animals, sheep can also become excited when expecting a joyous event. They use their bodies, including facial expressions and ear positioning, to communicate this to their friends.
These perceptive animals can even recognize fear in another sheep’s facial expression. Sadly, on sheep farms and ranches, there is no shortage of it.
12% of lambs die within first two weeks
A newborn lamb’s life begins with terrifying odds. Most sheep are raised on open pastures, which many assume means they must be happy. In reality, it means exposure to the elements and predators. Because sheep bred for their wool and flesh tend to have multiple lambs, many cannot nurse all of their young. The “excess” lambs are so common that the industry has named them “bummer lambs.”
In the United States, 388,000 lambs (12%) born die within two weeks of life. In Australia, 25-35% die within a few days or weeks. Most deaths are due to infection and hypothermia. Countless lambs starve to death. Bottle feeding these lambs would be too time-consuming and expensive for a farm. Plus, it is common for farmers to want only the strongest to survive and breed in the future.
If they survive, they are painfully mutilated
The surviving lambs will be met with a set of painful mutilations. Male lambs are castrated without anesthesia. Most wool-bearing lambs will have their tails cut off. This is done because urine and feces can accumulate on the underside of lambs’ tails and cause infection when improperly cleaned. Ranchers generally have far too many sheep to be concerned with cleaning their tails. The industry solution - cut the tail off. Farmers use a hot blade or knife, cutting straight through the muscle and bone. Some farmers claim to use a more“humane” method which involves tightening a rubber ring around the tail until lack of circulation causes the tail to fall off. Does this sound humane to you?
Lambs are dehorned or disbudded and have ear tags punctured through their ears.
Life ends too soon
Those bred solely for their flesh will be slaughtered between 6-8 months of age. These lambs are only babies.
Commercial wool growth is unnatural
Sheep used for wool will continue to have longer lives- but not good ones. Many people assume wool to be a harmless industry because domestic sheep must be shorn to be comfortable. But this is only one side of the story.
The reason that modern sheep produce so much wool is because of generations of selective breeding. Their wild counterparts shed their fiber naturally with the seasons. Hair or light wool breeds of sheep do not grow too much wool. Merino sheep are the chosen breed for wool production.
The excessive layers of wool these sheep form cause skin folds or wrinkles. These wrinkles make an attractive place for flies to lay their eggs. When the eggs hatch, the larvae devour the sheep’s flesh, causing a painful open wound.
If a sheep lives to five or six years old, their wool will become thin and brittle. At this point, their wool is no longer profitable. After a lifetime of suffering on behalf of humans, they won’t be rewarded with a gentle retirement. Instead, they are sent to slaughter.
Sheep are prey animals and are some of the flightiest farmed animals. They are easily stressed, and new events can be frightening. The trip to slaughter is terrifying. Packed into a crowded stock trailer, sheep can overheat as they begin to panic.
Many countries still export live animals, especially sheep, often on ships to other countries with lax animal protection laws.
No U.S. laws restrict “livestock” transport in extreme weather conditions. It is legal in the United States to transport animals used for food for 28 consecutive hours without food, water, or rest. And sheep can be transported for 36 hours instead of 28.
After a long and exhausting truck ride, sheep find themselves in a slaughterhouse yard full of countless unfamiliar sheep. They are herded into a single file line on the kill floor. Separated from their flockmates, they cannot follow their instinct of sticking together for safety. This is likely stressful and confusing.
Whether a sheep’s “purpose” was a wool sweater, milk for parmesan cheese, or a holiday dinner does not matter now. Both six-month-old lambs and adult “wool sheep” will find themselves in the same frightening place. They all meet their end in the same way.
Take Action:
Animal Place strongly encourages our supporters to eliminate sheep products from their diet and wardrobe. Refusing to buy wool or eat sheep flesh or dairy can help prevent this needless suffering. Please choose compassion.