PETA Hides 100 Little Sheep: Finders Get Treats in Wool-Free Winter Campaign

Locating Sheep-Shaped Stress Balls Squirreled Away Around Washington Nets People Warming Goodies

For Immediate Release:
December 15, 2014

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Washington –

This week, PETA is taking wool-free awareness straight to the streets with a scavenger hunt newly designed for D.C. residents and visitors. Find one of the 100 sheep-shaped stress balls embossed with “#WoolFreeWinter”—the name of PETA’s holiday shopping campaign—that are hidden in plain sight throughout the city, and there will be a holiday gift of mittens, lip balm, and vegan hot chocolate mix awaiting you at PETA’s 16^th Street office (and finders get to keep the stress balls, too). And that’s not all—keep your eyes out this week, and you may see PETA’s #WoolFreeWinter message popping up in surprising places (especially around D.C. landmarks).

“PETA’s sheep-shaped stress balls for stressed holiday shoppers show how easy it is to help animals simply by reading the labels and putting the items that say ‘wool’ back on the rack,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “By choosing wool-free sweaters, scarves and other clothing, shoppers are being kind to animals, including gentle lambs and sheep.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—kicked off its wool-free winter campaign with an international exposé of the wool industry in the U.S. and Australia (the source of 90 percent of the world’s merino wool). The video reveals that workers violently punched scared sheep in the face, stomped and stood on the animals’ heads and necks, and beat and jabbed them in the face with electric clippers and a hammer. Some sheep even died from the abuse, including one whose neck was twisted until the animal died.

Fabulous wool-free scarves, sweaters, and more are widely available from a variety of retailers, including H&M, Forever 21, Express, Vaute Couture, and MooShoes.

People who get their hands on a hidden “sheep” can redeem their gift between 9:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday at PETA’s Nanci Alexander Center for Animal Rights, 1536 16^th St. N.W., Washington.

For information about helping animals, please visit PETA.org.