Patagonias’ Response To PETA Investigation

You may have seen PETAs’ recent video revealing the mistreatment of many sheep which were the sources of Patagonia’s wool.

”A gut-churning PETA video exposé reveals that life is hell for lambs and other sheep exploited for so-called “responsibly sourced” wool. A witness found workers in Argentina hacking into fully conscious lambs, starting to skin some of them while they were still alive and kicking, and otherwise mutilating, abusing, and neglecting lambs and sheep on farms in the Ovis 21 network—Patagonia’s wool supplier.”

Below is the PETA video released in 2015, filmed in 2014.

Warning – Graphic*

To learn more about the treatment of these sheep, visit If It Says ‘Wool’, Leave It On The Shelf.

Update: Patagonia have responded to the released video, going beyond apologizing, and saying that it will not buy more wool until it can extract certain assurances from its supplier.

To thank Patagonia for cutting ties with the wool supplier and making efforts to end their contribution to this type of suffering Click Here.

Related Posts On The Vegan Lily:

• Is Wool Cruel?
• The Truth About Rabbits Raised For Fur
• Mercy For Rabbits
• Boycott Beef But Not Leather?

An effective way to help end this suffering is to ensure that you are not contributing to and supporting this industry.  This can be done by simply avoiding wool.

The key to ending the unnecessary suffering of billions of innocent animals each year is to educate as many people as possible. Share buttons are below. Thank you.

-The Vegan Lily

If It Says ‘Wool’, Leave It On The Shelf

Wool doesn’t seem to be a material associated with abuse, torture and suffering.  However, many videos online have proven that the wool industry may not be as innocent as we would presume.  Below is an example of one of these videos which have exposed the mistreatment of many sheep.

Warning – [Graphic]

Workers are seen punching and kicking lambs, in some cases workers have been caught picking up lambs and throwing them onto the floor at full force. Tails, ears and lumps of flesh are often cut off without any anaesthetics. Some lambs were skinned alive and fully conscious, in full view of other lambs.

These investigations point out how difficult it is for brands to monitor their supply chains, even when their supply chains claim to be ethical.  If you want to be certain that you are not supporting this kind of abuse, avoid buying wool.

You can also put forward your name as a supporter by following this link : http://investigations.peta.org/ovis-lamb-slaughter-sheep-cruelty/#pledge

Wool is an unnecessary product. Lambs are gentle creatures who don’t deserve this kind of treatment or abuse.

Other related posts on The Vegan Lily:

• Is Wool Cruel?
• Boycott Beef But Not Leather?

Share this post if you think it was helpful or informative. The key to ending to exploitation, abuse and suffering of billions of animals each year is to educate as many people as possible. Share buttons are below. Thank you.

-The Vegan Lily

Boycott Beef But Not Leather? – [Warning-Graphic]

Recently, I read a post from someone who was criticizing vegan’s decisions to refuse to buy animal products as clothes (fur, leather, wool etc.).

Their view on boycotting leather was that it was simply ineffective and pointless. After reading further into their argument, I realised that this writer was not arrogant, but simply ignorant to the realities of the leather industry.

-Should we just boycott animal products for food and continue purchasing animal products for clothes/ fashion? If your interested in animal welfare and the environment then no. Ideally, you should boycott all animal products because each animal product purchased is simply funding the mistreatment and slaughter of an animal.

-If leather is simply a byproduct of cows raised for meat, then shouldn’t we focus on boycotting meat instead of leather? Not necessarily. Although more cow meat is purchased than leather, it does not mean that we should ignore the leather industries flaws. The majority of leather that we buy comes from cows which were raised specifically for their skin. These are separate cows to the ones that we eat. In some cases I would even say that the leather industry is more extreme for their mistreatment of animals than the meat industry. By boycotting products which contain leather, we are effectively decreasing demand for these leather products, helping put a stop to the mistreatment and exploitation of these animals.

If your interested in ending any contribution to this horrendous industry and/or want to learn more about where our leather comes from, I recommend watching the video below. It’s only 60 seconds long, but gives a brief insight into the suffering cows endure for this industry:

We have to remember that the products we buy for fashion can sometimes affect the lives of others. Similar to leather, the wool industry isn’t always as pretty as it sounds. I talk about this in detail in my post ”Is Wool Cruel? – [Warning-Graphic]” .

-The Vegan Lily

Speciesism In The Use Of Animal Images For Advertising

”The idea of using an image of an animal for advertising a product is in itself harmless, but the context of how the image is used with regards to the product it is trying to sell can be contradictory and speciesist.” – Rod Chichinoud. I’ve only recently began to realise how often images of animals are used for advertising, especially when the advertisement is for meat, dairy, eggs, wool, leather etc. Often, it’s followed by an animation of a winking chicken or a smiling cow. Years ago, I would of viewed these images as harmless but now I realise that they are designed to  work daily on our subconscious mind in a manipulative way, and shape how we think of animals as products who can be hurt, killed & sold whichever way we chose.

However, I believe that an image of a neon sign in the shape of a cow or a pig is in itself ok, but put these images outside a restaurant or shop selling the animals’ dead flesh, and these images take on a horrific meaning.

And how about those images we come across which suggest that animals are well looked after and enjoying their freedom? The picture of a chicken happily taking a ride on a smiling farmer’s tractor, an image which in itself seems inoffensive, until we make the connection that this picture is the advertising on the packaging of a dead chicken. Most people seem to forget the killing process that occurs after they have lived a fraction of the years that their bodies were designed to live.

Or what about the sign which hangs in a butcher’s shop showing a lady hugging an animal in her arms? These are all images which brainwash the public to disconnect from the idea that slaughtering animals is both a cruel and unessesary murder.  

Writer Rod Chichinoun mentions another example of speciesist imagery that  was found on the window of a shoe shop showing the image of a cow wearing leather boots. If you live in Ireland you might have received an advertisement through the letterbox recently, showing an image of a dead shark hanging from a rope by his tail, with the slogan “Show Your Bills Who’s Boss”.

”Offensive Animal images can be as deceptive as a toy sheep puppet made from wool, or a child’s toy of plastic pigs enjoying a barbeque. You may argue that these are just innocent toys, and that I am reading too much into them. But the reality is that there is a definite disconnection between the living animal and the message these seemingly innocent products are sending out.

These are some examples of speciesist animal imagery which we pass each day and take no notice of. As we start looking out for these images, we’ll find that they become easier to spot.”

-The Vegan Lily