VF Corp. Faces Vote on Supply Chain Transparency After Sheep Shearers Plead Guilty to Cruelty

For Immediate Release:
July 28, 2026

Contact:
Andrew Grant 202-483-7382

Denver –

At VF Corporation’s annual shareholder meeting on Tuesday, shareholder PETA will urge fellow shareholders to support its resolution calling on the company to issue transparent, detailed reports on animal welfare violations in its wool supply chain. The vote comes as three shearers have pleaded guilty to criminal charges under New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Act after a PETA Asia investigation exposed rampant cruelty, including beating, stomping on, and standing on sheep’s necks, at facilities supplying wool to VF Corporation, the Denver-based parent company of icebreaker and other brands. A warrant has been issued for a fourth shearer.

New Zealand authorities filed 21 cruelty to animals charges against the workers after reviewing PETA Asia’s investigation footage showing shearers battering terrified sheep, and violently throwing them down chutes. Several of the facilities investigated belong to a network of sheep farmers that hold 10-year contracts with VF. The facilities were certified by ZQ, a program managed by New Zealand Merino, which has since rebranded as Zentera and removed its previous claim to be “the world’s leading ethical wool brand.”

PETA Asia’s investigation also revealed what happens to sheep once their wool production declined. At a slaughterhouse owned by a company that purchases sheep from a VF brand supplier, workers forced frightened sheep onto conveyor belts, electroshocked them in the head, and slit their throats. Sheep were seen twitching their ears and thrashing their legs after their necks were slashed.

An image from PETA Asia’s footage of a wool operation in New Zealand. Shearing is a terrifying ordeal for sheep, who are often left bleeding and bruised as shearers—usually paid by for speed—race to shear as many animals in as little time as possible. Credit: PETA Asia

“While VF Corporation hides its animal welfare violations from shareholders who have a right to know how animals are treated, shearers on farms that supply its wool have pleaded guilty to cruelty and sheep are suffering every day for wool,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on fellow shareholders to demand accountability, and we urge compassionate shoppers to choose vegan apparel that leaves animals in peace.”

Investigations by PETA entities into more than 150 wool-industry operations on four continents have exposed widespread abuse of sheep, who have complex emotions, grow depressed if isolated from their flock, and can detect anxiety in another sheep by observing their faces.

A recent survey of more than 2,000 U.S. adults commissioned by PETA and conducted by The Harris Poll has found that 64% were unaware that sheep in the wool industry are sent to slaughter when their wool production declines. Seventy-three percent said they would likely reconsider purchasing wool even from farms self-marketed as “ethical” or “responsible” if they learned sheep are mistreated.

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.