BOSTON, MA – FEBRUARY 10, 2025 – “This is footage of lambs that look like they’ve been butchered, but they're actually alive?... Horrible!” exclaimed Mallory Lewis and Lamb Chop, sharing the sentiment of other top talent after viewing video footage on lambs being  mutilated by the sheep wool industry.

FOUR PAWS, the global animal welfare organization, teamed up with LA production company, Pollution Studios, to create a series of emotionally charged videos. Volunteering their time, celebrities sat in pairs in front of a monitor that played actual footage of the cruel practice that over 10 million lambs endure every year on Australian farms.

In the footage celebrities were filmed watching, lambs are strapped laying on their back with their hind legs forced up and open, baring their backside. A farmer steps in front of the camera as the viewer sees a flash of sharp, metal sheers. Next thing we see is the lamb with open, bleeding wounds on the back of their hind legs. It is released from the restraints and dropped roughly to the ground. The lamb falls to their knees, freezes, and then attempts to get away, staggering as blood drips from their hindquarters.

Most of the world’s wool comes from Australia, roughly 80% (70% of Merino wool and 80% of superfine Merino wool for clothing worldwide come from Australia). Here, Merino sheep are bred and raised for the wool industry, and shockingly, must endure the cruel farming practice called “live lamb cutting” (also known as mulesing). This is the practice of cutting off substantial skin and flesh of the young lambs’ buttock skin without appropriate pain management if used at all, to remove the hair follicles. This is not castration or tail docking. Lambs as young as two weeks old are cut using this outdated practice.

“My colleagues and I could only relate this procedure to one thing, and that is if one were to get a tattoo surgically removed without anesthetic or anesthesia. This is how deep the knives need to go through layers and layers of skin. The practice is just barbaric and uncalled for. The industry has better options: options that are pain-free and industry-proven. Thousands of Australian farmers have successfully eliminated the need for Live Lamb Cutting practice through alternative breeding options.” said Claire LaFrance, Head of Communications for FOUR PAWS in the U.S.

FOUR PAWS is honored to have these incredibly talented individuals participate in the reaction videos and help raise awareness and Be Their Voice. The videos include; Mallory Lewis, writer, producer and performer, along with Lamb Chop, from the world-famous ventriloquist duo Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop, that brings us all back to our childhoods; Actors Nicole Zyana, Logan Shroyer, Deirdre Friel, and fashion model and animal rights activist, Elizabeth Turner.

Asher Brown, Founder and CEO of Pollution Studios who oversaw the production of the reaction videos, said “It was such an honor to work with the Four Paws team on this video series. We wanted to draw attention to the horrible practice of Live Lamb Cutting and bring emotion and compassion to the baby animals who are being mutilated. Working with Lamb Chop was particularly powerful - I grew up watching her videos, and love the way she speaks out on behalf of her fellow lambs!”

This is not the first time FOUR PAWS collaborated with celebrities to protect sheep. In October, FOUR PAWS launched “Be Their Voice” campaign highlighted by a star-studded animated video. Australian actress Danielle Macdonald and U.S. actor Scott Evans lend their voices to fictional characters Sunny the lamb and science student, Jesse, who both try to let lambs speak through the possibilities of AI. Jesse, upon learning that he can communicate with Sunny, quickly learns of her terrifying fate and the horrors of Live Lamb Cutting.

Additionally, FOUR PAWS works to push both the wool production and fashion industries forward. 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 nearly 100 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.

FOUR PAWS encourages the public to watch their celebrity reaction videos to help us spread awareness for the lambs. Visit our website for more information.