Patagonia Wool Supplier Found Slitting Lambs' Throats, Skinning Them Alive

Stella McCartney Cuts Ties With Supplier as Hard-to-Watch PETA Video Exposes Extreme Cruelty of 'Responsibly Sourced' Wool

London – PETA has obtained highly disturbing video evidence of cruelty on farms that are part of the Ovis 21 network in Argentina – a wool supplier to clothing company Patagonia. The video shows that workers kneel on conscious lambs and saw through the animals' necks with their knives, causing them to bleed and vomit as they struggle, their legs kicking and tails flailing. In its code of conduct policy, Patagonia claims that its suppliers "respect animal welfare" and must adopt "humane practices", while Ovis 21 claims "sustainability". But it's shown that animals on an Ovis 21 farm, where lambs and sheep are used for wool, have parts of their ears and tails cut off, and one lamb's genitals were tightly bound for a slow, painful castration – all without any pain relief – leaving blood to drip from the wounds.

PETA is calling on Patagonia to stop buying and selling wool products. Among the designers sourcing from Ovis 21 was Stella McCartney, who uses no fur, leather or exotic skins in her collections. A lifelong vegetarian and long-time PETA ally, McCartney was alerted by PETA US to its investigation. She commented: "After conducting our own investigation in Argentina and throughout our supply chain, following a very distressful viewing of PETA US footage, we immediately ceased buying wool from Ovis 21. We are deeply saddened and shocked by the cruelty seen on the footage, as animal welfare is at the heart of everything we do. This is a huge set back to help saving the grasslands in Patagonia. We are now even more determined to continue our fight for animal rights in fashion together and monitor even more closely all the suppliers involved in this industry. We are also looking into vegan wool as well, in the same manner we were able to develop and incorporate high-end alternatives to leather and fur over the years".

"Having witnessed an astounding level of cruelty to sheep in every shearing shed PETA US visited in Australia, the US and, now, Argentina, it's high time that companies and consumers ditch real wool", says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi. "Today, finding alternatives to hide, fur and fleece is easy, and no animal has to suffer when businesses make kind choices. We thank Stella for rejecting cruelty in the wool industry and hope Patagonia and others will follow suit."

PETA US is filing a complaint with Argentinean authorities, citing Argentina's federal animal-protection law. The exposé shows that lambs cry out, gasp and kick even after workers sawed open their throats and snapped their heads backwards, while just feet away, other bleating lambs watched and waited for their turn.

Shearers also stamped and stood on sheep's legs, and fast, rough shearing left animals cut and bleeding. The eyewitness never saw the sheep receive veterinary treatment for the wounds, at least one of which was so severe that internal tissue jutted out and the animal reportedly later died. Once no longer wanted, older sheep were lined up and some were tackled and dragged away to be shipped off to slaughter.

Footage of PETA's exposé is available for download here, and photographs are available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.