Some More Products of Animal Slavery (Vol. 2)

WOOL

Many people believe that shearing sheep helps animals who would otherwise be burdened with too much wool. The truth is that without human interference, sheep grow just enough wool to protect themselves from temperature extremes. In Australia, sheep are specifically bred to grow excess wool and to have wrinkly skin, which means more wool per animal. The idea that taking wool does not harm the sheep is comforting mythology. Most shearers are paid on a piece rate and not by the hour, which encourages extremely fast work (“gun shearers” can spend as little as 2 minutes per sheep) and many animals end up being severely injured in the process. Besides that, young lambs’ tails are chopped off not long after birth and the males are castrated without anesthesia.

Australian ranchers perform a barbaric operation called "mulesing" where they, without any painkillers whatsoever, slice chunks of flesh from around the animals’ tail area. This is done to cause smooth, scarred skin that prevents flies from hatching eggs between the warm moist skin wrinkles. Ironically, the exposed, bloody wounds themselves often get flystrike before they heal, so mulesing may kill more sheep than it saves, but it still continues. After the operation, lambs can be seen writhing over the ground on their sides, trying to escape the pain.

Once the sheep are no longer producing prime wool, they are shipped to slaughter to the Middle East or North Africa. Only about 17% survive the enduring weeks- or months-long journey through all weather extremes on crowded and disease-ridden ships with little access to food or water, only to be killed at their arrival.

Even though sheep’s wool is the most commonly spread, there are also other sorts of wool like angora, cashmere, mohair or alpaca that all involve similar violence and abuse. As for “cutting” the wool out, there are plenty of lighter and less itchy alternatives out there, including cotton flannel, polyester fleece, nylon, acrylic, orlon, Tencel (breathable and biodegradable) or Polartec Wind Pro (made from recycled plastic bottles with four times the wind resistance of wool).

SILK

The silkworm produces a fine thread by making a figure-eight movement some 300,000 times over several days, constructing a cocoon to inhabit in a state of sleep and casting off its skin. After this the pupa begins the period which would normally result in transformation into a winged moth. However, the pupa would normally begin to secrete an alkali that eats its way through the cocoon — ruining someone’s future silk suit. Therefore, as the cocoons take shape, the silkworms are killed by heat: immersed in boiling water, oven-dried, electrocuted or microwaved.

The silk production terminology - stifled for killed and crop for pupae - echoes the denial that we are dealing with living creatures which are awe inspiring when one considers their metamorphic life-cycle

Plant fibers are capable of producing some great silk alternatives. For example, fibers from the pineapple, silk-cotton tree or milkweed seed pods may be made into fabrics as strong and lustrous as any silk. Synthetic fibers like nylon, polyester (Terylene, Dacron) or acrylic (Courtelle, Orlon, Dralon) also have their qualities.

DOWN

Down, the soft feathers from the breasts of geese and ducks, is either plucked from birds slaughtered for food or from forcibly restrained live animals. Either way, they live miserable lives, packed by masses in confinement inside large warehouses. Birds who undergo live de-feathering may be plucked every six weeks - up to five times during their short painful lives.

The down industry is directly linked to the meat and foie gras production, so the cruelty that ducks and geese endure is as horrifying as for any other factory farmed animal. Let me just derive from the subject fot a little bit and use the opportunity to show you this video on foie gras:

Meant to keep the birds and their eggs warm, down feathers are commonly used in pillows, jackets and comforters, for which it can take the feathers of dozens and dozens of birds to fill. So why rob these millions of birds bare naked if we don't really need down anyway? In fact, hypoallergenic synthetic down, polyester fill, Primaloft or Polarguard may even probably end up weighing less on your wallets, not talking about your consciousness.

And do I even have to mention the use of fur and leather? If you hesitated with answering that then why haven't you still seen the "Earthlings"? It's too scary and sad and revolting? Then go see the wonderful, beautiful film produced by Tribe of Heart called "The Witness" and take a look at this while you're at it.