PETA Protesters Go Near-Naked for Sheep

Right now, with freezing temperatures sweeping the country – it’s hovered in the single digits since before Christmas – most Philadelphians are trying to wear as much clothing as possible to insulate them from the piercing cold. Some of that clothing, for a lot of people, included fuzzy, snuggly wool sweaters. What would it take to make you stand naked out in the cold for hours? I’d say that you’d have to have some… pardon the pun… burning convictions. As is normally the case with animal-rights supporters, however, no situation is too extreme to make a point about the welfare of animals in plight. About a week before the holidays, a cluster of PETA activists rallied in front of City Hall to protest the cruelty of wearing wool, all while themselves not wearing much aside from some body paint.

PETA protesters went nearly naked to bring attention to the cruelty of woolgathering. Save the sheep!

According to PETA, even though shearing sheep for wool is not fatal, the way it is with cows and leather, woolgathering is still a barbaric practice. The organization, which is active and sometimes even criminal in its aggressive defense of all living things, claims that since woolgatherers are paid by the pounds of wool they gather and not by the hours they spend at work, they are prone to use rough and mean treatment of the sheep they are shearing. A video posted on the PETA website showed sheep being hit in the face, stomped on, and cut using electric shearers, then having the resulting cuts stitched up without anesthetic.

The protesters painted themselves bloody and bruised to depict the suffering of the sheep. They came armed with signs emblazoned “The Naked Truth. Wool Hurts.”

“Gentle sheep are beaten until they’re bloody and broken for the sake of wool sweaters and scarves,” said PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman in a statement. “PETA is calling on holiday shoppers to give sheep some peace on Earth this year by keeping wool apparel off their lists.”