‘Bloody Sheep’ to Shock NYFW Crowds at Rockefeller Center Over Cruelty in Wool Industry

For Immediate Release:
September 8, 2026

Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382

Crowds gathered at Rockefeller Center for New York Fashion Week events will get a front-row seat to a grisly display on Thursday, when PETA supporters dressed as bruised and bloodied sheep converge outside the venue with lifelike dead lambs and the message, “Wool Kills.” PETA supporters will show footage from a recent PETA Asia investigation on a farm certified by NATIVA—a “responsible” wool brand—which reveals workers kicking and stomping on terrified sheep, dragging them by their legs, and leaving them with gaping wounds after crude shearing.

“In shearing shed after shearing shed, PETA entities have found and filmed terrified sheep being pinned down, punched, and injured for their wool,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges all shoppers to reject this violence by opting for vegan knits that no sheep were beaten and bloodied for.”

Where:           600 Fifth Ave., at the steps leading to The Rink at Rockefeller Center, New York

When:             Thursday, September 10, 12 noon

Why:               Sheep are highly social animals who grow depressed if isolated from their flock. PETA Asia’s investigation documented workers kicking sheep in the head and body, hitting them in the face with shearing equipment, beating them with a piece of wood, and picking up and dragging lambs by their front legs. One worker dropped his knee onto a ram’s neck, causing the animal’s head to hit the floor. Others sheared sheep quickly and carelessly, slicing their skin and leaving them bloody.

PETA entities have now released 17 exposés of over 150 wool industry operations in seven countries on four continents, revealing extreme cruelty and violence even at operations that market themselves as “ethical” or “responsible”—and showing why such labels serve only to mislead customers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that when it comes to the ability to feel pain, hunger, and thirst, a sheep is a dog is a boy. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.