AUSTRALIAN SHEEP THAT ARE 'INTENSIVELY' FACTORY FARMED FOR THEIR FINE WOOL ARE CONFINED TO SMALL PENS FOR UP TO 5 YEARS. THEIR FOOD IS MONITORED TO ENSURE THEY ARE IN A CONSTANT STATE OF HUNGER.  

 

Shedded sheep, otherwise known as 'Sharlea Sheep' live in small pens made of wood and wire, they are forced to live in these pens day in and day out every year for up to 4-5 years. They are never let out to exercise, they never see the light of day or feel grass on their feet.  When they no longer produce fine wool, they are slaughtered.

Australia is undoubtedly a country known for its utter contempt for sheep. From the brutal live sheep export trade, where millions of Australian sheep are savagely slaughtered in the likes of the Middle East, to the crude hacking of flesh from the backsides of lambs(mulesing) and of course this issue, the cruel practice of intensively penning sheep for their fleece. Australia's abuse and exploitation of sheep is never ending.

 

WARNING FOOTAGE IS UPSETTING

http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/ultra_fine_wool.php

INFORMATION SOURCED FROM ANIMAL'S AUSTRALIA'S WEBSITE 

Recent investigations have revealed a 'growing' animal industry that the vast majority of Australian's and people worldwide would be unaware of, the cruel penning of sheep for their 'Ultra-fine' wool. 

Ultra-fine wool growing is an intensive animal industry. Specially-bred sheep are kept indoors in individual small pens 24 hours a day for four or five years, they are NEVER let out to exercise, NEVER feel a blade of grass under their feet.  They are denied all opportunity to express ANY of their natural behaviors.  Intensively farmed sheep NEVER see the light of day until growers no longer require their wool, then shedded or Sharlea sheep as they are otherwise known are slaughtered.

Nylon coats are worn by the 'shedded' sheep to further ensure that dust and dirt does not enter their fleece and, like every other intensive animal industry, the behavioural and social needs of the sheep, intrinsic factors which provide quality of life, are completely ignored.

The impacts of chronic stress caused by an inappropriate environment are obvious.

The confined sheep continually chew on the wooden slats and strands of wire which enclose them. Repetitive body movements were also observed - classic stereotypic behaviours caused by a barren environment (which leads to chronic boredom), combined with the inability to exercise, or to perform simple natural behaviours such as the ability to graze on grassrevealed a 'growing' animal industry that the vast majority of Australians would be unaware of.

These are just some of the reasons why this cruel practice must be banned:

- vitamin and mineral deficiencies can develop 

- 5–15% of sheep do not adjust to being indoors and some stop eating 

- sheep cannot form social groups or establish a personal zone 

- normal sleeping, drinking and digestion are affected by chronic stress

- sheep that are stressed are likely to suffer from disease and parasites

- pens are too small for natural movement — stretching, laying down, turning around, walking and running

- foot problems are common from constantly standing on hard surfaces 

- bacterial infections can result from an altered environment in the gut

- stones in the urine may result from not drinking enough water

- sheep suffer without temperature control in sheds — they cannot flock together to keep warm in the cold and, in the heat, rugging sheep can lead to overheating.

 Studies show that:

- sheep suffer acute stress due to change of environment and diet

- sheep are stressed by the lack of flock structure and space to move

- chronic stress may come from continuing poor nutrition, noise, bright lighting, changes to routine or poor stockmanship

- stress continues because sheep cannot escape from the stressors

- long-term confinement and chronic stress lead to changes in a sheep’s normal behaviour.

Behavioural problems seen in shedded sheep include:

- wool biting

- chewing slats, bars, buckets or pen fixtures

- mouthing air and repetitive licking

- increased vocalisation

- panting (without heat stress)

- obsessive movements such as rearing, butting, leaping and weaving.

Requests from Animals Australia for The Horsham Wool Factory in Victoria, Australia to permit an expert in animal behaviour to assess the well-being of sheep in The Wool Factory were denied.

Concerns were raised with the Victorian (Australia)  Government Animal Welfare Advisory Committee resulting in a request for committee members to attend the facility to observe the sheep. This too was denied. A request from the Department of Primary Industries to install cameras in the facility to monitor the behaviour of the sheep has also been denied.

Clearly the management of The Wool Factory In Horsham, Victoria, Australia—despite their protestations that the sheep are happy and healthy—aren’t confident that experts in the field will reach a similar conclusion. Their cruel practices continue and once again they have recently celebrated winning the Zegna trophy.

There appears little doubt that the welfare issues witnessed at ‘The Wool Factory’ (the income from which supports training programs for the disabled) would be replicated at other private ‘ultra-fine’ facilities, where sheep are also individually penned.

The sheep Code of Practice states that animals that are unable to adapt to the indoor confinement should be returned to grazing. Clearly from the evidence gathered at The Wool Factory, this is not occurring. If operators are not complying with the Code of Practice they can be prosecuted for cruelty under state animal welfare laws.

Animal Australia's Campaign Success

A major supporter of Australia’s ultra-fine wool industry is leading Italian fashion house,

Ermenegildo Zegna. The ‘prestige’ of winning an Ermenegildo Zegna award is much sought after in wool industry circles. The ‘Vellus Aureum Trophy’ is awarded by Count Paulo Zegna each year for the ‘golden fleece’—the finest micron fleece.

Animals Australia's campaign against single penned sheep in 2009 resulted in Ermenegildo Zegna deciding that wool sourced from sheep kept in single pens is no longer eligible for their award. In 2010 our campaign had another success when the largest buyer of ultra fine wool, Italian designer Loro Piana, did not only decide to ban fleece from single penned sheep from their Wool World Record Challenge Cup awards, but announced they will also no longer purchase wool produced under such cruel conditions. These important developments impact negatively on the viability of facilities keeping single penned sheep while positively impacting their welfare.