Compulsory measures should be taken to halt cruelty

Animal rights activists are demanding mandatory cameras installed in sheep-shearing farms across Scotland.

Peta has sent a letter to Mairi Gougeon, Scotland's environment minister, asking her to “stay true” to the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 by making the installation of CCTV cameras in sheep sheds compulsory.

Earlier this month, Peta released footage of routine cruelty by shearers on 24 Scottish farms where workers were seen punching sheep in the face, stamping and standing on their heads and necks, and beating and jabbing them in the face with sharp electric clippers.

"The wool industry is trying to dismiss accusations of cruelty after workers were caught violently abusing sheep, but don't be fooled by its crocodile tears," says Peta senior vice president Jason Baker.

"This is the second wool investigation we've conducted in the UK this year, and what we've found is standard practice. The industry simply can't justify or even explain away the documented abuse."

Shearers are often paid by volume, not by the hour, which encourages fast, violent handling that leaves gaping wounds on the animals' bodies according to Peta.

The campaign group has passed on evidence of the cruelty to the Scottish SPCA, calling on the charity to prosecute the individuals involved.

Last Thursday Peta activists mounted a protest on Glasgow’s Buchanan Street holding a shorn sheep and placards saying “wool hurts.”