Victims of bushfires
Announcement posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia 24 Jan 2020
The Editor,
Dear Editor,
Of all the animals who have suffered and continue to suffer in recent bushfires, sheep are perhaps the most ignored. Staggering numbers were killed – around 100,000 on Kangaroo Island alone.
Survivors are often badly burnt. The worst get a bullet in the head. Those who can walk, even if badly burnt and in great pain, may be sent for what the industry calls "salvage slaughter" – trucked on an agonising journey to an abattoir.
Bushfires occur regularly in Australia, and are becoming more severe. As the Earth warms, we need urgent reductions to emissions, and sheep are second only to cows in the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. There are over seventy million sheep in Australia, and they produce huge amounts of manure, polluting water, land and air, as well as spreading faecal bacteria. Forests are denuded for grazing, and kangaroos, already killed by the millions by the fires, are shot as they "compete" for grass.
It's time to say no to the wool industry. No bushfire relief should be allowed for restocking animals who may well be victims of the next fires. And if you see a wool label in a shop, please don’t buy it.
Mimi Bekhechi
Campaigns Strategist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Australia)
PO Box 20308 World Square
Sydney, NSW, 2002.
(08) 8556-5828
Dear Editor,
Of all the animals who have suffered and continue to suffer in recent bushfires, sheep are perhaps the most ignored. Staggering numbers were killed – around 100,000 on Kangaroo Island alone.
Survivors are often badly burnt. The worst get a bullet in the head. Those who can walk, even if badly burnt and in great pain, may be sent for what the industry calls "salvage slaughter" – trucked on an agonising journey to an abattoir.
Bushfires occur regularly in Australia, and are becoming more severe. As the Earth warms, we need urgent reductions to emissions, and sheep are second only to cows in the production of methane, a potent greenhouse gas. There are over seventy million sheep in Australia, and they produce huge amounts of manure, polluting water, land and air, as well as spreading faecal bacteria. Forests are denuded for grazing, and kangaroos, already killed by the millions by the fires, are shot as they "compete" for grass.
It's time to say no to the wool industry. No bushfire relief should be allowed for restocking animals who may well be victims of the next fires. And if you see a wool label in a shop, please don’t buy it.
Mimi Bekhechi
Campaigns Strategist
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Australia)
PO Box 20308 World Square
Sydney, NSW, 2002.
(08) 8556-5828