'Sickening' footage exposes animal cruelty in the wool industry
WARNING - DISTRESSING CONTENT: Shocking video footage has emerged of Australian wool shearers cruelly mistreating sheep by punching them, kicking them, and standing on their necks during shearing.
The video, released by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), shows the animal abuse that continues in the wool industry despite a 2014 exposé resulting in the first animal cruelty convictions for Australian shearers.
The horrifying footage shows workers punching terrified sheep in the head, hitting them with metal shears, stitching up bleeding wounds without anaesthetic, and dragging them across hard wooden floors before throwing them down garbage-like chutes.
According to PETA, many sheep shearers are paid by volume, not by the hour, which means they have to work quickly.
Sheep are often cut and injured during the fast-paced shearing process but are not provided with veterinary care, PETA claims.
After the 2014 convictions, Australian wool industry representatives said they were committed to stopping animal abuse.
However, this recent footage shows that rough handling and animal cruelty still exists in the sheep shearing industry.
A spokesperson for Australian Wool Innovation, the chief wool industry body, told The Mercury the practices shown in the video were not condoned.
“AWI categorically and unequivocally condemns the mistreatment of animals and supports the use of the legal system to prosecute any criminal behaviour,” a spokesman told the newspaper.
“AWI welcomes the prosecution of anyone mistreating animals as has been the case in recent court cases.”
