PETA to ask American Eagle outfitters to stop supporting Australian sheep abuse

16 Jun '05

2 min read

A PETA representative attending the annual meeting of Warrendale, Pa.-based fashion retailer American Eagle Outfitters on Wednesday will make a statement urging company officials to stop using Australian wool until the industry stops two particularly cruel practices—mutilating the backsides of lambs without painkillers in a procedure called "mulesing" and transporting live sheep on "death ships" to the Middle East.

PETA is a shareholder in the company, which operates about 850 stores in the U.S. and Canada, with projected sales of $1.8 billion in 2005:

Place: American Eagle Outfitters annual meeting, Hilton Columbus Hotel at Easton, 3900 Chagrin Dr.

Mulesing is a painful mutilation in which Australian farmers use gardening shears to slice chunks of skin and flesh from lambs' backsides—without any painkillers—in a crude attempt to reduce maggot infestation, even though humane control methods exist.

Every year, millions of Australian sheep are shipped to the Middle East through all weather extremes, mired in their own waste aboard open-decked ships. Many sick and injured sheep are thrown overboard or are ground up alive in mincing machines. When the survivors reach the Middle East, their throats are slit while they are still conscious.

PETA's international boycott of Australian wool has already won the positive response of prestigious retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch, J.Crew, Timberland, Limited Brands, and U.K.-based mega-chains New Look and George.
ns New Look and George.

"By continuing to use Australian wool, American Eagle Outfitters is contributing to the mutilation of lambs and the agonizing deaths of sheep," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We're asking the company to follow the lead of other retailers and add some compassion to its balance sheets."

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