A giant inflatable winter wonderland will set the stage for a grim tableau at Church Street Marketplace on Thursday as PETA members step inside it and ruthlessly pummel “bloody,” realistic sheep to give holiday shoppers a glimpse of the cruel reality of the wool industry, in which sheep are beaten, mutilated, and killed by aggressive shearers.

When:    Thursday, December 7, 12 noon

Where:    Church Street Marketplace, at the intersection of Church and Bank streets, Burlington

“Christmas is anything but merry for the sheep who, as shown in our undercover videos, are routinely beaten and cut to ribbons for their wool,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges shoppers to opt for super-cozy vegan materials and leave cruelty off their gift lists this holiday season.”

Credit: PETA

PETA investigations have uncovered cruelty to sheep at over 100 wool operations worldwide—even on “responsible” farms, where shearers have been seen punching, stomping, kicking, and throwing around sheep. Shearers are often paid by volume, incentivizing them to work quickly, and sheep are often left bloodied and in pain as a result. The gaping wounds caused by careless shearers are then crudely stitched up—without painkillers. Fortunately, most top retailers offer clothing made of natural eco- and animal-friendly vegan fabrics, including organic cotton, linen, Tencel, and modal.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.

For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.