BOSTON, MA – OCTOBER 10, 2024 – Most of the world’s wool comes from Australia, a country that elicits images of bright blue skies. However, there is a dark side to wool from this region. FOUR PAWS, alongside other animal welfare organizations, released a new report revealing the industry's failure to eliminate the outdated practice of live lamb cutting (also known as mulesing). If industry leaders followed through on the phase-out promise they made in 2004, around 140 million lambs could have been spared from this brutal treatment.  

In recognition of two decades of suffering, FOUR PAWS has launched the “Be Their Voice” campaign, featuring support from international celebrities like Australian actress Danielle Macdonald and U.S. actor Scott Evans, who advocate for lambs who cannot speak for themselves. The campaign urges brands and policymakers to ban live lamb cutting by 2030.  

To understand the extent of suffering that is inflicted on lambs, it is best to look at concrete figures: If one were to collect every piece of skin and flesh that is cut off from Australian lambs’ buttocks in the last 20 years, one could fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools. This skin is cut from lambs as young as two weeks old as an outdated method to prevent flystrike. These baby lambs then go on to produce the wool that makes up our sweaters, suits or activewear.  

“Every year, over ten million lambs endure unimaginable pain and fear when brutally cut, which equates to a heart-wrenching 19 lambs every minute. Australia remains the sole nation clinging to this inhumane practice. The pain of live lamb cutting lasts for days, wounds take weeks to heal, and the scars last a lifetime,” explained Rebecca Picallo Gil, Animal Welfare in Wool Campaign Lead at FOUR PAWS.  

In 2004, Australian wool industry leaders promised to phase out the cruel practice of live lamb cutting by 2010, only to abandon this commitment one year before the deadline. As a result, the practice continues. Consequently, more fashion brands along with Australian wool producers that had already transitioned to certified live lamb cut-free wool, lost trust in the industry’s leaders. 

Don Mudford, a transitioned wool grower from New South Wales in Australia, explained, "It is evident that the Australian wool industry peak bodies are inherently incapable of steering the industry away from this practice, primarily due to conflicts of interest. Additionally, they have squandered both wool grower and taxpayer funds in their attempts to find a solution to flystrike, despite the availability of a viable solution for over 20 years."  

“Twenty years of unfulfilled promises, vested interests, and poor leadership is a tragic milestone. As citizens of countries that import live-cut wool, we cannot let lambs suffer another two decades, simply hoping that the Australian wool industry will eventually embrace the available pain-free solutions independently. Alongside advocating for legislative change in Australia, FOUR PAWS is committed to ensuring consumers worldwide are informed, empowering them so they can help to end this practice for good,” added Picallo Gil. 

FOUR PAWS is launching the Be Their Voice campaign on the 20th anniversary of the Australian wool industry’s broken promise to end live lamb cutting. A primary focus of the campaign is public awareness aided by the release of an animated video: the imaginative story of lamb Sunny where people discover the harsh reality of live lamb cutting. With the help of Australian actress Danielle Macdonald, recognized for her roles in Dumplin' alongside Jennifer Aniston and in Bird Box with Sandra Bullock, and American actor and producer Scott Evans, known for his performances in Grace and Frankie and the blockbuster Barbie, Sunny's story comes to life, with the hope of inspiring millions to be Sunny’s voice and demand a ban on live lamb cutting. “Be Their Voice” is both an outcry for public awareness as well as an artistic masterpiece.   

Macdonald explained, “Supporting FOUR PAWS and giving lambs like Sunny a voice was a no-brainer for me. The idea to explain a brutal animal welfare issue in an easy-to-understand and creative way really resonated with me. Sunny’s fate is a representation of the fate of millions of other lambs and by giving her a stage, we can shine a light on all the suffering lambs in Australia.” 

• Here is the link to the full report. 
• Here is the link to the Be Their Voice Campaign Video.  
• Here is the link to a short Documentary of the Broken Promise. 

Background 

The procedure of live lamb cutting is practiced to prevent flystrike, even though pain-free alternatives are available and proven by the industry. Australia is the world's largest wool producer contributing 70 percent of the apparel wool used in the global fashion industry and 81 percent of the world’s superfine wool. Thus, live lamb cutting is a global problem driven by the worldwide demand for wool.  

The global movement of fashion brands against live lamb cutting is gaining momentum, with over 300 brands publicly committed to certified live lamb cut-free wool (mulesing-free) and 90 international companies that have signed FOUR PAWS’ Brand Letter of Intent, including Hugo Boss, Adidas, and most recently Mango. These brands are not just committed to a future free of live lamb cutting, they also directly call on the Australian wool industry and government to end the practice by 2030.