Published Letters and Op-Eds from
COK’s Writers Group

Only Sheep Should Wear Wool

Published in the Gazette on March 17, 2004.

I was delighted to read about Clover, the new lamb at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary who most certainly brought us one step closer to spring (“Upcounty residents say signs of spring are abundant,” March 10). Clover not only symbolizes the changing of seasons, but she is the epitome of beauty and innocence.

Sadly though, unlike Clover, most lambs are simply viewed in terms of profit. Those who, after an abbreviated life, are not slaughtered for our consumption, are forced to live in misery on farms where they are raised for their wool. Within weeks of birth, lambs’ ears are hole-punched, their tails are chopped off, and males are castrated—all without the use of painkillers. Once their exhausted bodies are no longer productive, they are sold for slaughter.

No one needs to support such cruelty. With so many cruelty-free fashions available, we can choose to buy products not made from animals and leave wool where it belongs—on sheep, like Clover.

Erica Meier, Mount Rainier