The Hidden Cruelty of the Wool Industry

In the past and in more traditional practices, sheep were shorn with scissors. However, removing the fleece with shearing scissors is not an efficient method for modern standards. In farming today, sheep are instead usually shorn on an industrial scale. To do this, the animals are taken to a shearing shed or pen and shorn with a hand-held machine.³ The animals are often injured in the process. The sharp blades can cut into or even slice away parts of the skin. The sheep are frightened during the shearing process and struggle, which increases the risk of injury. Furthermore, industrial shearing is designed for time efficiency, meaning each sheep must be processed quickly. There is no scope to cater for the animals’ individual needs or body types. When hair is removed from other species, there is also no time to comb out the hair during mass industrial processing. Consequently, the hair is often simply and rapidly plucked out. This practice of removing hair from animals is prohibited in Europe.

The hair or fleece is then collected, sorted and washed. To obtain the right texture for use, it is brushed (‘carded’) and spun. It is then processed further as required, i.e. dyed and treated.

Today’s domestic sheep rely on humans for their survival. This is because they have been selectively bred to the extent that their fleece continues to grow even when the animal can no longer move. In very heavy rain, their fleece can even become so saturated that they lose their balance and fall. If you discover a sheep that is unable to stand, it is important to assist them and ensure that they are able to stand and walk unaided.⁴

Most of the sheep wool produced worldwide originates from China and Australia.⁵ The international market value stands at around 3 billion euros, with an annual production of almost 2 million tonnes of wool from 1.2 billion sheep.⁶

Australia, as one of the main suppliers of sheep fleece, is also the country where a procedure called ‘mulesing’ is a common practice. This practice is the mutilation of merino lambs, involving the surgical removal of the skin folds around the tail, without anaesthetic.

Alpaca wool is prized for its lightness and fineness. It is one of the most expensive types of wool. Similarly to sheep, farmed alpaca fleece grows continuously, leading them to also be dependent on humans for survival. These alpacas no longer undergo a natural moult, which is why they have to be shorn. Wild alpacas are able to shed their hair naturally. This process is stressful for the animals and causes them anxiety. Alpacas place great importance on their personal space. This is infringed upon by the restraint and rough handling used during the  shearing process. Furthermore, shearers are often paid by volume of animals, not by the hour. This leads to careless work and causes additional physical injury to the animals. The lack of protection provided by their fleece increases the likelihood of parasitic diseases and overheating, as the coat has thermoregulatory properties.⁷

Due to its fineness, cashmere is often used for luxury garments such as jumpers and coats. The cashmere market was valued at around 3.12 billion US dollars in 2025. The German market accounted for 21.9 per cent of total turnover.¹¹ Around 20,000 tonnes of raw cashmere are produced annually. After processing, this yields 6,500 tonnes of pure cashmere ¹² . If 200 g is obtained from each goat per year, 2 million animals are required. It takes four goats and one year to produce a single jumper.

Iran, Afghanistan, China and Mongolia are the largest producers of cashmere. Germany, China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Italy are the largest importers.¹³

The hair of the Angora goat is known as mohair and should not be confused with Angora wool, which comes from rabbits. Mohair is considered even more luxurious than cashmere, as it is finer and lighter. Angora goats have white, silky, curly coats, which make them highly sought-after by the textile and fashion industry. The majority of mohair fibre is produced in South Africa, the USA and Turkey.¹⁴

Angora goats produce between three and eight kilograms of wool each year. They are shorn twice a year. As with other animals, this procedure is extremely stressful. The animals are processed quickly and, in some cases, their skin is cut away. On some farms, they are brutally dragged across the floor and thrown about. Outside of the shearing process, they may also be subjected to painful mutilations. Goats are often castrated and slaughtered without anaesthesia or painkillers; sometimes their ears are cut off as well. Some of the goats are kept without access to daylight. ¹⁵ As Angora goats often live in mountainous regions, the goats are unable to keep warm after shearing and, depending on the weather conditions, may even die as a result.¹⁶

Every year, between 4,000 and 8,000 tonnes of Angora wool are produced worldwide, with prices ranging from 35 to 260 USD per kilogram. China is the largest producer of Angora wool, with a market share of 80–90%.¹⁹ Around 20 million rabbits are housed there in appalling conditions.²⁰

As they age, the animals usefulness for the wool trade declines. When their fleeces are no longer productive enough for textiles manufacturing, the sheep are often transported to be slaughtered in other countries where animal welfare regulations are less stringent. To this end, they may travel for many days or weeks over long distances to be slaughtered, forced to endure extreme temperatures whilst crammed together in confined spaces. This causes prolonged suffering and distress for the sheep.²¹

Sheep that are also kept for milk production are separated from their lambs – much like cows. This causes considerable emotional stress for both. Sheep are highly social animals that live in close-knit groups. Separation from the mother causes severe stress and behavioural problems in the lamb. The mother also suffers from the separation and reacts with anxiety.²²

Mulesing is a practice that is carried out primarily, though not exclusively, on Merino sheep. As one of the world’s leading producers of sheep wool, Australia is also the country where this practice is most common. Due to selective breeding, Merino sheep have a particularly woolly and wrinkled anal region. Due to the excess fleece and skin, faeces and urine can build up in this area, which in turn attracts blowflies. The larva of Lucilia cuprina plays a central role in what is known as sheep myiasis (flystrike). It poses a significant economic problem for the wool industry. Infested sheep often initially show a reduced appetite. If left untreated, the larval infestation can progress rapidly and, as a result of the spreading inflammation, lead to the death of the affected animal.²³

Herds of sheep are very large, with some farms having several thousand animals. In practice, it is therefore often virtually impossible to identify individual infected animals in time and treat them effectively.

In response to this risk, the practice of mulesing was introduced in 1931 by the Australian farmer John Mules. The procedure involves the surgical removal of the excess skin in the tail and rump region of lambs aged between approximately two and twelve weeks. Lambs are restrained on their backs while strips of skin are cut away from their backside. This is often carried out without adequate pain relief, or with none at all. The aim of this mutilating procedure is to create scarred, hairless patches of skin. These are less prone to moisture build-up and are therefore intended to prevent infestation by fly maggots. The procedure causes the animals enormous distress and inflicts excruciating pain. 70% of Merino lambs endure this procedure.²⁴

Alpacas are kept in mountainous terrain, but they are rarely provided with shelter to protect them from extreme weather conditions. Many young animals fall ill and die from this exposure as a result.²⁵

Goats reared for cashmere or mohair are mainly kept outdoors, although they may also be housed in sheds under extreme conditions. The animals are often kept in huge herds numbering thousands. In such circumstances, it is impossible to focus on the welfare or the veterinary care of individual animals. This leads to competition for feed and a lack of protection from the elements. Large herds therefore lead to increased stress amongst the animals and injuries resulting from fighting.²⁶

A large proportion of cashmere  is produced in China. Footage filmed covertly in factories in China and Mongolia shows that goats are severely mistreated during the hair removal process. The animals are either roughly plucked with metal combs or shorn. Some are forcibly restrained and pressed to the ground, with their legs overextended. The animals cry out in pain and distress.²⁷

Injuries sustained during this process are not treated by a vet. This leads to infections, and some animals die as a result. Animals that no longer meet the sufficient ‘wool yield’ are then used for the meat industry and, in some cases, killed on the spot. On some farms, it is standard practice to stun the animals by striking them before their throats are slit.

There is no applicable animal welfare legislation in China, which makes this practice legal. Existing certification and labelling schemes are not sufficient to effectively improve animal welfare in the farms involved.²⁸

After the sheep have been shorn, the fleece must be cleaned. As the fibres are hydrophilic and can absorb almost a third of their weight in water, this process is very resource-intensive. Chemical additives such as phosphates, sulphates, alkalis, acids and heavy metals are used in the cleaning process. This contaminates the water used in the cleaning process and has serious consequences for the environment.³⁵

The cleaning process consists of several steps. To remove plant residues, a process known as carbonisation is used. The fleece is soaked in a solution of sulphuric acid and water for 10–15 minutes. The cellulose is then dissolved, making it easier to remove. A heating process produces hydrochloric acid, which then breaks down the cells. There are also other methods that involve the use of heavy metals or gaseous acids.

Alkalis and other surfactants are used to remove fats from the raw wool. Most of the chemicals used in the cleaning of raw wool are extremely harmful to the environment. Throughout this process, specific temperatures must be maintained, which also requires a large amount of energy.

Another way to reduce animal suffering and to limit waste from the textile industry, is to buy woollen items second-hand. There are endless ways to repurpose old and unwanted woollen items such as blankets, jumpers and scarves, and turn them into something new. Buying and reusing second-hand items in this way is inexpensive, eco-conscious and prevents further animal exploitation.