Forever 21 has come under fire from animal rights group PETA over a video exposé that shows sheep being mistreated on farms in Australia that reportedly supply to the US teen apparel retailer.
New video footage recorded on sheep farms in Australia shows workers “beating petrified sheep in the face, deliberately mutilating them, and cutting their throats while they were fully conscious,” according to the animal rights group. PETA says it is now launching a worldwide campaign against Forever 21 to urge it to stop supporting the abusive wool industry.
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“Forever 21 knowingly supports cruelty to animals by selling clothing that’s a product of violence and extreme suffering,” says PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is appealing to the company to show that it opposes such horrific abuse by going wool-free.”
PETA Asia says it has asked Australian law-enforcement officials to investigate the findings for violations of each state’s Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and to file appropriate charges.
“These new videos mark the 10th and 11th global exposés of the wool industry that PETA US has shared with the company, going as far back as 2014,” the animal rights group says. “PETA affiliates have documented cruelty to sheep on 27 farms in Australia and a total of 99 properties on four continents.”
A spokesperson for Forever 21 told just-style in a statement: “Forever 21 takes the issues of ethical sourcing and animal welfare extremely seriously and has worked with PETA on several important initiatives over the years, including our fur-free policy and permanent ban on Angora rabbit hair. To the best of our knowledge, Forever 21 does not source any materials from farms in Australia and therefore refutes the accuracy of PETA’s claims. We remain deeply committed to working with vendors that employ strict animal welfare practices.”
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By GlobalDataMost recently there have been calls for an investigation into alleged abuse of sheep on UK farms, CCTV to monitor sheep-shearing in Scotland and cruelty-to-animals charges against angora goat farmers in South Africa.
