‘Trade You Brick for Hemp!’ PETA Rolls Out New Artwork for a Sheep-Free ‘Catan’
For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2025
Contact:
Nicole Perreira 202-483-7382
To build a settlement in Catan, players need brick, lumber, grain—and hemp? In honor of the iconic tabletop game’s sixth edition (and just in time for 4/20), new “hemp” decals are blazing onto the PETA Shop to help Catan players update the game’s original wool cards—and weed out animal exploitation.
PETA’s “hemp” decals can be placed directly over the “sheep” artwork on the game’s resource cards, and the full vegan game pack, now available for pre-order, also includes decals for a “Vegan Victory Point” development card and a “Most Ethical Path” special card (worth two Victory Points—perfect for smoking the competition).
“Every sheep is an individual, not a resource,” says PETA Senior Vice President Joel Bartlett. “PETA is liberating the sheep of Catan with new artwork that helps players stand up for real-life animals every time they sit down to play.”
PETA entities have released 15 exposés of over 150 wool industry operations in seven countries on four continents revealing workers beating, kicking, and slamming sheep into floors; burning and cutting lambs’ tails off; and crudely stitching up gaping wounds without painkillers, among other routine abuses. Durable, eco-friendly, and animal-free materials from hemp to bamboo can be used for everything from socks to sweaters to settlements.
PETA notes that Catan fans have long debated whether the original card represents “sheep” or “wool”—either way, real animals don’t belong in anyone’s resource pile. Enterprising players will undoubtedly come up with clever nicknames for the new hemp cards, but every swap from sheep to sustainable hemp helps spare gentle animals a lifetime of exploitation.
PETA—whose motto reads, “Animals are not ours to experiment on, eat, wear, use for entertainment, or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
