Standard Wool has acknowledged animal cruelty concerns within the Chilean wool supply chain.
The global wool buying company recently responded to PETA’s allegations of animal rights violations after an unidentifiable video showed Chilean sheep farmers mistreating and slaughtering livestock throughout the wool sourcing process.
“Standard Wool absolutely condemns the mistreatment of animals and the recent information regarding the cruelty of sheep is of great concern to our company. Our company is in fact the only wool buying operation in Chile which actively promotes good standards on the welfare of animals,” Standard Wool said.
Despite PETA’s allegations, Standard Wool hasn’t found evidence of animal abuse among its Chilean farmers. Even though PETA released the unidentifiable video, it hasn’t provided any other mistreatment evidence.
Since the incident, Standard Wool has started working with farmers associations and individual farmers on four initiatives to prevent animal cruelty within the Chilean wool supply chain.
Standard Wool (Chile) SA has a conditional clause with farmers stating that the IWTO Guidelines for Wool Sheep Welfare are adopted and practiced prior to the purchase of wool. Chilean authorities were also notified about Standard Wool’s PETA allegations concerns and they were requested to carry out sheep farm investigations.
The organization also assured that IWTO Guidelines for Wool Sheep Welfare are important to its mission as a responsible wool buyer. Open discussions were also held with farmers associations and wool producers in Chile to raise awareness about potential animal cruelty within the industry.
Plans are in place for Standard Wool to visit Chilean sheep farms this month to further investigate potential animal cruelty and also check that all parties involved are practicing ethical sourcing standards.
PETA’s allegations go beyond Standard Wool and the Chilean wool industry. Since 2014, PETA has released video footage of 39 international sheep facilities that have violated animal rights in the wool sourcing process. What consumers may think is “luxurious” is actually quite the contrary.
“When you pay extra for ‘Italian’ wool, you may actually be paying for sheep to be mutilated, beaten, and cut to shreds in front of each other somewhere else in the world,” said PETA’s executive vice president, Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on shoppers to stick up for sheep everywhere by choosing only animal-free materials.”