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i was browsing peta2.com and found an article i think could affect a lot of people in here



Sheep to Knitters: Wool Is Baaad
Knitting seems to be the "it" hobby right now, which is great if you've got skills or a talented friend who's cranking out the free scarves, hats, and sweaters like mad. More and more folks are getting together to "stitch and bitch" because, let's face it, it's a good excuse to spend time with your friends and an easy way to relieve stress. But there's an ugly side to knitting too—and we don't mean your first attempt at purling. We're talking about the sheep ... you know, the ones who make the wool.

Most people have no idea that millions of sheep raised for their wool are mutilated without painkillers. Lambs' ears are hole-punched, their tails are cut off, and males endure castration within when they are just a few weeks old. Every year, hundreds of these gentle animals die from exposure or starvation before they're even 8 weeks old, and countless mature sheep die from lack of shelter, disease, and neglect. And that's only the beginning.

Sheep are commonly bred to have wrinkly skin so that they’ll produce more wool, but the wrinkles collect urine and moisture, drawing flies who lay eggs in the folds of the skin. The hatched maggots can eat the sheep alive. Farmers claim that to prevent this "flystrike" they must perform a torturous procedure called "mulesing," during which they flip lambs onto their backs, restrain them between metal bars, and use gardening shears to hack huge chunks of flesh from around their tails. No painkillers are given, and lambs are left with bloody sores, which often draw flies, causing flystrike, the very problem that the procedure is designed to prevent. Of course, there are more effective, humane methods that could be implemented right now, but farmers continue to defend the cruel practice.

Just when you think that things couldn't get worse, they do. When their wool is no longer needed, sheep are crammed onto huge open-decked, multi-tiered ships and sent thousands of miles, through all weather extremes, to the Middle East, where their throats are slit while they're still fully conscious. Sick and injured sheep are thrown overboard or ground up alive in mincing machines.

So what can you do about it? Boycott wool and use only synthetic fibers. They're easy to work with, look great, will keep you just as warm and snuggly (but without all the itching!), and no one suffers. But don't stop there! Let all your fellow knitters know what's happening to sheep, including the managers of your local yarn supply stores. Ask them to follow leading retailers Abercrombie & Fitch, J.Crew, New Look, and a growing list of yarn outlets by replacing real wool with modern acrylic and cruelty-free fibers. You can also e-mail PETA2@peta.org to request free copies of PETA's "What's Wrong With Wool?" leaflet and pass 'em around. You can make a difference.


i, for one, had no idea they were treated like that :[