Billie Eilish wants people to think twice about buying wool. The vegan musician shared a video starring Pink that exposes animal cruelty in the wool industry.
Seventeen-year-old Eilish took to Instagram to ask her more than 40 million followers to watch a video about the wool industry.
She linked to a clip made in 2008 by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the largest animal rights organization in the world.
“If you’re like most people then you already refuse to wear fur because of the obvious of cruelty to animals involved,” Pink says in the video. “Like me, you may even look for the stylish alternatives to leather.”
“But what about wool? Most of us have never thought about it,” she said. “Sadly, like any industry that uses animals, the wool trade uses methods so sadistic that it makes you consider clearing your closet of any animal products.”
Australia produces most of the world’s wool. Merino sheep aren’t native to Australia but are the most widely used in the industry. The musician says that Merino sheep have been “greedily bred” to have as much skin and wool as possible.
This stops sheep from defecating properly. “Flies lay eggs in these folds and the hatched maggots can eat the sheep alive,” Pink says.
To prevent this, farmers use gardening shears to cut chunks of skin from the sheep. They do this in the “cheapest, cruelest, and crudest way” – without any pain relief.
Some wounds on the “gentle lambs” become infected, attracting even more flies.
“When you see the Merino label, this is what you are paying for,” Pink adds.
‘Use Your Power as a Consumer’
After the sheep are used for their wool, they are sent to overseas — often to the Middle East — to be killed for meat. The animals are kept on ships in “miserably hot, cramped and filthy conditions” for weeks. They are “in a constant state of panic,” Pink says. The journey kills many of the animals. Those who survive the trip have their throats cut whilst completely conscious.
Pink urges viewers to boycott the industry until the mutilation of sheep and live exports are banned. “Another way to use your power as a consumer to stop cruelty is to avoid wool altogether,” she says. “I know this sounds like a pain in the [expletive] but it’s not so difficult. There are lots of clothes to buy for a look that kills without killing anything.”
