December 19, 2017
Thom Carroll/PhillyVoice
Three supporters with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals stand outside of Philadelphia's City Hall on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017, to ask people to stop buying wool products.
Supporters from the animal rights group PETA were at it again Tuesday afternoon with another head-turning protest at Philadelphia City Hall.
Their target this time was people who buy and wear wool.
The protesters held realistic-but-fake dead lambs and wore body paint to make them appear bloody and bruised.
"We'd like people to not buy wool, and to check the labels on their clothing before they buy them," said PETA spokesperson Tricia Lebkuecher. "With all the vegan clothing options available, there's just no excuse for supporting this kind of animal cruelty."
Seven video exposes, with footage recorded at 43 different sheep-shearing facilities on three continents, that revealed that many workers are paid by volume, not by the hour, PETA says. That encourages fast, violent work that can lead to gaping wounds on bodies of the animals, which are not given painkillers, the group says.
Graphic scenes emanate from massive shearing sheds in Australia include, PETA alleges, workers violently punching sheep in the face, stomping and standing on their heads and necks, and beating and jabbing them in the face with electric clippers. The videos are here but be forewarned, they are graphic.
Below is a series of photos from the event at Dilworth Park.
Marianne Bessey, manager of campaigns for PETA, stands outside of City Hall during the 'Bloodied and Bruised' protest on Tuesday at City Hall.
Leandria Campbell, left, and Kimberly Moffatt hold fake-but-realistic dead lambs to show how sheep are treated while sheared of their wool, according to exposes done by PETA.
PETA supporters, from left, Kimberly Moffatt, Adam Fine and Leandria Campbell at protest at Dilworth Park in Center City on Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017.
The activists drew reactions of curiosity, skepticism, disgust and support as they stood in the shadow of City Hall at noon on Tuesday.
According to investigations by PETA, sheep are subjected to shearing techniques that can lead to gaping wounds on their bodies.
