The Secret Cost of Wool

Fiona Murphy

Ms.Long

Contemporary Essay

October 21 2015

The Secret Cost of Wool

Throughout the years mankind has used wool as clothing. We wear wool as hats, scarves, sweaters, blankets and it is especially known for when we knit. But when we stop and think where wool comes from one might think about small little farms were a humble herder shears the wool of a flock of 12 sheep. The reality however might shock you. Wool usually comes from large industries that contain thousands of sheep were they are treated nothing more than wool producing machines. The shearers in these types of companies mistreat horribly their sheep; they stand on top of their heads, necks, and beat them with electric clippers and even with hammers.

So when we wear wool we are secretly supporting the brutal treatment that sheep go through for us to wear.

The industry of wool has changed dramatically. Once wool was acquired from sheep only during their molting seasons. And herders attended every single sheep's care. Though everything changed when the invention of shears was made. The fame of wool raised more and more consumers. And that is when large companies started having thousands of sheep cramped in minuscule spaces so that the mass production of wool could rise.

There are wool industries throughout the world.  In Australia were they produce 25% of the world's wool it is “considered normal in the Australian wool industry for at least 4 percent of young lambs to die every spring from poor nutrition, and millions die annually from exposure to harsh weather.”(1)

Australia is the world's leading producer of wool that’s why they raise sheep called merinos.

Merino sheep are specially raised to have more skin that folds over on itself which means more wool than average sheep produce. The problem is that these types of sheep have many wrinkles which catch excrement that can lead to “flystrike,” a disease that causes loss of fluids and blood proteins, and death (2). The common solution is to mulesing the sheep. What is mulesing you might ask? It is when workers cut of huge strips of skin off of baby lambs legs and underneath their tails while they are still conscious and without any pain relievers.

Sadly this is not the only barbaric action these companies make. When companies view sheep as unprofitable they sell them to the Middle East or Northern Africa for meat. They are crowded into filthy cargo ships where they are cramped in small spaces for days or even weeks without food or water. One sad tragedy happened in 2013 where 47,000 sheep died aboard the Cormo express after being on the ship more than two months (3).

There are many solutions to this problem and they are pretty simple such as buying vegan wool. Some wool alternatives are cotton, tinsel, and synthetic materials like acrylic all make great substitutes of wool for sweaters, scarves, hats etc…. Another way is buying organic wool from companies that guarantee the safety of the sheep and don't serve them on a plate later on.

We can all play a part in stopping this brutal action of hurting sheep. If we all contributed in to stop buying regular wool then this inhumane and gruesome ways of treating sheep would end.

Sheep are kind, playful just like our cats and dogs. They should be able to run and play in large fields, not confined to filthy and miniscule spaces were there subjected to cruel and barbaric treatments. If we wear wool then in a way we are supporting the vile and bloody ways of the wool industry. So next time you're at the store just take a minute and think that by not buying wool you’re saving sheep one at a time.

Works Cited

Regan, Tom. Empty Cages: Facing the Challenge of Animal Rights. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2004. Print.

"Inside the Wool Industry." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

“Cormo Express Disaster Industry.” THE AGE. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.