Sweater Shock! ‘Sheep Are Punched, Kicked, Killed for Wool,’ Says New Billboard

New Ad Features Man Wearing Wounded, Abused Sheep as Part of PETA #WoolFreeWinter Campaign

For Immediate Release:
November 9, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

PETA’s #WoolFreeWinter campaign is officially hitting the Windy City this week, as a new billboard featuring a mutilated sheep emerging from the sweater of a horrified man rises above I-294 at Pulaski Road. The ad—which reads, “Sweater Shock! Sheep Are Punched, Kicked, and Killed for Wool. Wear Vegan”—will greet drivers with a reminder that every wool sweater is the result of cruel handling, cutting, beating, and, ultimately, the slaughter of gentle sheep.

“As we’ve seen in countless investigations on three continents, there’s no humane way to produce wool socks, sweaters, coats, or accessories,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on caring people everywhere to leave wool on the rack this winter and stay toasty with stylish, easy-to-find vegan clothing.”

PETA, whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear,” released an international exposé of the wool industry in Australia—the source of 90 percent of the world’s merino wool—the U.S., and dozens of cities around the world, which revealed that workers violently punched scared sheep in the face, stomped and stood on the animals’ heads and necks, and beat and jabbed them in the face with electric clippers and a hammer. Some sheep even died from the abuse, including one whose neck was twisted until the animal died.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.