Topless supporters from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have picketed the opening of UK Wool Week, protesting on behalf of the sheep they say have been “kicked, punched and cut by shearers” for their wool.
The three protesters were made up to look bruised and bloodied, and held signs reading “the naked truth: wool hurts.” One held a replica of a dead lamb.
The protesters, who posed for photos outside the event’s opening, are believed to have been questioned by police officers.
PETA says shearing often leaves sheep with broken limbs and bloody wounds. It says they are roughly handled by unskilled farm laborers who are paid to work as quickly as possible.
On some farms in South America, including those linked to UK companies or which claim to sell “responsibly sourced wool,” the throats of fully conscious sheep are slit and the animals are skinned while still alive, PETA claims.
It says in Britain, huge numbers of lambs and ewes die from hypothermia or malnutrition each year.