Wool is an animal product which is widely consumed and seldom questioned, in spite of the large amount of suffering involved in the raising and exploitation of sheep for wool production. Wool consists of a fine, long and elastic protein called keratin. Before we began exploiting sheep, they used to produce only enough wool to protect themselves from the cold, as wild sheep do not need shearing. However, domestic sheep today have been selectively bred to produce more wool than is natural. This selective breeding has resulted in a multitude of illnesses related to their excessive amount of hair, such as deaths from overheating and flystrike and as well as the pain caused to them during shearing. Workers immobilise sheep during shearing in order to obtain every possible inch of wool from their bodies, ignoring any stress or injuries they suffer as a result. Sheep are individuals with their own interests and desires, not producers of scarves, jumpers, gloves and coats.
See inside a sheep slaughterhouse, filmed by Animal Equality investigators: