Chrissie Hynde publicly urge Benetton to end supporting animal abuse
30 Jul '05
2 min read
Chrissie Hynde
Fashion empire owner Luciano Benetton must have gotten a jolt when he picked up his morning newspaper and saw an ad with rock legend and longtime friend of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Chrissie Hynde calling on him to end his support for the cruel practices of the Australian wool industry.
The outspoken rocker wrote an open letter to Benetton that appeared in a full-page ad in his hometown newspaper featuring a photograph of Hynde next to photos of bloody Australian lambs who had been mutilated in a procedure called “mulesing” and titled “Help Us Put an End to Cruelty to Animals. Avoid Benetton.” The ad first appeared in the July 28 issue of the Tribuna di Treviso in Treviso, Italy, where Benetton is headquartered.
Hynde has also written to Australian Prime Minister John Howard regarding the abuse of sheep by his country's wool industry, and she conducted a protest of mulesing and live sheep exports in Sydney while she was on tour in Australia last February.
“Right now, because you continue to purchase wool from Australia, you are putting money directly into the pockets of producers who mutilate baby sheep and ship the adults to a terrifying death,” writes Hynde. She adds, “The world is watching and counting on you to stop mulesing and live exports. Please take a stand today.”