Pink Wants You to Boycott Wool

December 22, 2006

Pink is no stranger to controversy when it comes to the treatment of animals. Most recently she called Beyonce a bitch for wearing fur and it doesn't stop there. Now she's joined with PETA in taking on the Australian Wool industry. What's wrong with wool, you ask? While the wool itself is sheared from the sheep without harming it, Pink says the animals are still mistreated and sometimes killed. Yesterday her Pinkness held a press conference and even launched a video showing a graphic video of the sheep being mutilated and killed. If you're interested in learning more then click here.

Source

Pink PETA

73 Comments

sassy_rob 6 years 21 weeks

I don't condone cruelty to animals, but Pink really needs to do some research before she encourages people to boycott Australian wool. One of the issues she has with the treatment of sheep by Australian farmers is mulesing - where the tail and skin around the sheep's backside is cut off. No, it is not pleasant or kind, but it is preferable to the alternative. Blowflies will lay their eggs in the sheep's flesh right under the tail and maggots will congregate there and eat the flesh. It's called flystrike, it's very painful and it often leads to death. It is a very common practice, and it is very effective. Wool is one of Australia's biggest exports, and as long as that is the case, mulesing will continue. But Pink really should consider the economic consequences of what she is advocating. Australia is currently going through one of the worst droughts in its history. The situation is really very drastic - suicide rates are through the roof because farmers just cannot survive. Imagine the impact that a boycott on Australian wool would have on the people who sheep farm for a living, who already have a tough time as it is. Not to mention the impact it would have on Australia's economy. Ignorant celebrities should stick to what they do and know best.

LaLaLola 6 years 21 weeks

Australian wool eh? Hm, aren't Uggs made in Australia, that means, boycott uggs!!! Not that I have a problem doing that, I hate uggs.

esk4 6 years 21 weeks

If we weren't supposed to eat meat why would humans be built the way we are... think about it eyes in the front of out head like most preditors, bears, big cats, wolves... most herbavors have eyes on the sides of their heads, we also have our caniene teeth for grabbing and tearing into meat. We were not designed to be vegitarians. Personally I don't see the problem in eating meat, it's natural for animals to eat other animals, just because of our agricultural advances why should humans be any different. If a cow is going to die anyway one way or another I don't see why we can't atleast get a good meal out of it... oh and btw refering to hamburger as cow flesh doesn't bother me in the least still tastes good.

teddybear 6 years 21 weeks

First thing I have to say is we crave junk food and all kinds of things that horrible for us, that doesn't mean we are meant to eat it. I didn't know that about the wool thing. I've been a vegatrian since I was 9 by choice. My parents both ate meat. I saw a cow being hung upside down and it's throat slit so people can eat it. I haven't touched meat since that day. I have 2 children and do not raise them as meat eaters. When they're in school they get curious and ask questions about what their friends were eating etc... I tell them what it is and make it their choice weather they choose to eat it or not. I explain it to them by telling them what it is. I think naming dead animal's insides these cute little names like hotdog is misleading. Why don't they call it pig fat and whatever else is in there. We call bananas bananas so why is cow insides called hamburger? I think if we label food as to what it is people would think twice about buying it. I'm not sure if this is true or not but I have read that vegetarians live longer and that meat is hard for humans to digest. I would eat a dead person off death row before I would eat an animal. Look at all the meat we're wasting, especially in Texas.

kelly 6 years 21 weeks

I LOVE YOU DulceSkye!!!LOl,you said everything i wanted to add. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!

DulceSkye 6 years 21 weeks

For me, suffering is suffering. I get as depressed thinking about child abuse, AIDS, terrorism, famine, pollution as I do about animal cruelty. No one is worse than the other because they are all interconnected in the fact that it's occurring on this planet, the only planet we have. What I've done in my life is focus on issues where I can make an impact and a difference. There's not much I can do to stop terrorism, but I can stop animal cruelty by making changes in my life and in the lives of my children. I work in Social Services, and that's what I do to try and stop poverty and child abuse. And I guess that's what Pink is trying to do. She found a cause where she feels like she can make a difference. It's just that her attitude is a bit overbearing. This was a great thread. I think most people expressed their opinions in a respectful, and intelligent way. And that's how change is made, when people take the time to listen to each other and learn. Ok, I'm off to prepare for the crazy hoilidays. Hope everyone enjoys their holidays too!

esk4 6 years 21 weeks

I think before we "torture" on animals is even addressed we should end things like abuse and torture against people, not to mention world hunger. I mean how vain are we to focus on animals when people around the world live in such low qualities of life. PETA really makes me sick, especially when it comes to testing on animals... if they don't like it so much why aren't they first in line to replace the bunnies/mice ect. And what about all the rodents that die when a field is harvested. that said I need to go get a burger now.

EdwinaTheLovely 6 years 21 weeks

DulceSkye.......I in no way suggested that Pink shouldn't excercise her right to advocate against anything. I'm talking about what I see as her combative way of going after others and their treatment of life, and yet I'm somewhere and she's blowing smoke in my face, literally. My point is the hypocrisy of being in her presence and her not giving a shat about the fact that no one else was lighting up but her = continually - even after one guy says he's allergic, but she gets praise for taking issue with railing on about how the harm we're doing by wearing wool. No, no one could have known about my personal experience from the first post and I should have been clearer, but that's the connection. Btw I'm an ex smoker, and I don't trip about others not making that same choice. I simply try to avoid it when I can.

pauly007 6 years 21 weeks

It's irrespective of whether you're vegetarian or not. Pink just comes off as being basically uninformed on the facts. PETA's protest is not so much about "shearing" as it is the practice of "mulesing". To be brief, Merino (a popular Aust. breed of sheep used for its wool) suffer from a thing called 'flystrike'. Flystrike is a terrible thing, where flys lay eggs on the sheep, those eggs hatch and the larvae/maggots then eat away the sheeps flesh, creating bacteria which eventually (and agonisingly) kills the sheep. "Mulesing" is a process which stops flystrike from happening. It usually involves the top layer of skin being cut off of the sheeps behind and a skin graph to cover the wound. There is a small discomfort involved, obviously, but in general the sheep recover quite quickly (days, not weeks). Whilst mulesing does cause pain, the benefits of the procedure outweigh the type of death caused by flystrike. It isn't pretty to watch. The situation is rather like someone getting a cancer cut out (problem fixed) or seeing that cancer (untreated) take over and kill, not pretty. A few things to remember. 1) Australia are phasing out the practice of "mulesing" over the next 4 years and it will be illegal after 2010. 2) Only the Merino breed is effected, a small percentage of Australia's vast breeds of sheep. 3) Australia isn't the only country using this method, as the current alternatives have proven both expensive and ineffective and 4) Most farmers are now performing methods of 'selected breeding' to create breeds that are less likely to attract flystrike. Pink has a right to say what she wants, I just hope she is doing it as an informed decision, not just a puppet for an organization wanting their voice heard.

M155 J4CK13 6 years 21 weeks

...And remind me how Pink's smoking relates to animal cruelty, again? (Edwina)

M155 J4CK13 6 years 21 weeks

I said this in a related post about Kate Moss: "I do hope that each one of you who is against wearing fur is a strict vegan who lives an animal/animal byproduct-free lifestyle... ...because if you partake in the suffering of animals through the food you eat or the products you use, you shouldn't condemn others for doing the same." My opinion still stands. I am also vegan... I just don't like hypocrisy.

Sake2Me 6 years 21 weeks

I was a vegetarian (very strict) for three years. Then, I broke down and had a piece of bacon (mmmm...drool. bacon) A few days later: a fine, fine, medium rare steak. Damn! Three years I missed of delicious yumminess. If humans weren't meant to eat meat, why does it taste so damn good?! ;-) PS: no, I did not get sick.

Mainly Obsessed 6 years 21 weeks

Okay you know what? WE HAVE CANINE TEETH SPECIFICALLY FOR EATING MEAT!!!! Humans are OMNIVOROUS! We eat BOTH meat AND vegetables, so don't come with that "humans were not meant to eat meat" shizz.

notorious-16 6 years 21 weeks

Shes so gross looking

t0xxic 6 years 21 weeks

theres that humane word again and again

appreciated 6 years 21 weeks

Well I can't wear wool because it makes me itch like crazy!!! Even the acrylic stuff you can find at Walmart, etc makes me itch! Can't people just treat animals nicely?! JEEZ! You don't need to hurt the sheep just give it a hair cut!!

soccer_obsessed 6 years 21 weeks

ok so i don't wear fur but i never knew about this i personally like the fact pink is aware but i wish she had a different way of expressing her opinions instead of calling people bitches otherwise i'm good with what she's doing :)

Surabhi 6 years 21 weeks

Hi, You know, but, when animals are truly loved, like really loved..... I've seen sheep getting shorn by lovely middle aged & elderly ladies, white & Native Americans, almost as like....a cuddle session. These animals are like soooo relaxed & so just... givin' it up willingly in the hay, & it's actually healthy for them when done right. I've spent time training oxen & you really bond with that animal. YOu do things together like move feed, haul fallen wood of places vehicles can't get to...so you can go dry it for a few years & then sell it. Although I won't get into the attitude these oxen have, it's wonderful & gently, but tough. & of course you keep the animal for life. I won't even mention what ideally a really sweet milk culture can be like...I'm sure you can imagine. If even drinking milk, milk is healthiest, like way healthiest, when heated up pretty hot & spiced with tumeric n' things. Ever just lain in the hay with a cow, you milk every morning, & hanging out with her calfs for awhile? Watching them in the pastures growing up, taking them for walks, or hearding a hundred loved cows through an enchanting forest path? When it's done right it's beautiful to live so closely with animals & use what they definately don't mind (in 'reality'} giving. Anyway, okay that got long! Peace

kittycat 6 years 21 weeks

i like PETA. i would possibly join them one day. but this story seems weird. i've seen sheeps getting "trimmed" for their wool. there shouldnt be any pain. in fact the sheeps seemed quite comfortable with losing the wool because its really heavy. of course there are always unethical practices and people/firms that abuse animal rights. what PETA should do is expose these firms and practices, that way consumers who value animal rights will not buy these firms' products. cutting wool out of ur clothes closet is not realistic at all, especially when u live in a place where half the year is under 10C.

BeachBarbie 6 years 21 weeks

I hate PETA's tactics.

jmast 6 years 21 weeks

I personally just don't trust PETA...I have found so much info about them on the web that shows they are cruel to animals and fanatical. It's fine to have an opinion and be an activist and stand for a cause, but when you become fanatical, cruel and outrageous then that's just ridiculous. I also saw an episode on Penn & Teller's Bullsh*t on PETA and that was a real eye opener. I think we should conquer the abuse of children before the abuse of shearing sheep for wool. I found an article on the web at iheartpaws website by Christina Harvey, it's titled Non-Profit Organizations - Beware of the Bad Apples. I would post the link but I will just get flagged and it will take a while to get posted so just google it.

BeachBarbie 6 years 21 weeks

This is getting insane to me. :OY:

dovima 6 years 21 weeks

She is right about wool... Sad but true. Wool is crueler then you would ever imagine and the general public has no idea. do some quick research on it [google it] and you will be surprised.

jmast 6 years 21 weeks

I have to agree with Vigilante here, my friend grew up on a farm upstate and they had pigs, chickens, cows and sheep and they did not treat them cruel. When they sheared the sheep they did not do that to them, I saw them shear the sheep at another friend's farm in Ohio. No animal was screaming or bleeding, etc. These families needed the wool to make a living and they wouldn't have a living if that's how they treat the animals. I saw that show Bullsh*t with Penn & Teller and they showed proof that PETA is actually cruel to animals. If you just browse the net you find the news stories. Here is one story, http://www.consumerfreedom.com/pressRelease_detail.cfm/release/123 and if you google it you find that the story is true and the judge denied the request to drop the charges (http://www.wvec.com/news/local/stories/wvec_local_060106_peta_trials_update.42e7b3e4.html). Look at this site that has stories and other proof about PETA and how they aren't exactly saints http://www.petakillsanimals.com/index.cfm I am not for the mistreatment of animals. Not at all. But I don't like the bullying tactics of PETA and the nasty way PETA celebrities talk about others and drag them into the spotlight. Why don't we take care of Child Abuse, Famine, AIDS, War, Rape and countless other things before we start petitioning against wool?

DulceSkye 6 years 21 weeks

Edwina, you certainly have the right to complain about second hand smoke. It's harmful to your health. So do so whenever you can. I don't agree with Pink calling folks names, but I do admire her for standing up for her belief. If you feel so strongly about second hand smoke, perhaps you should consider becoming an activist as well.

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