Ahead of the Wild Sheep Foundation Convention and Sporting Expo, aka the “Sheep Show”—which encourages people to kill and butcher wild sheep—PETA has erected a provocative new message just a stone’s throw from the Reno-Sparks Convention Center and across from the Meadowood Mall urging people to leave sheep in peace and wool where it belongs: on its original owners.

“Every wool hat and sweater came from terrified sheep who were violently pinned down and sliced to pieces during shearing,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA urges everyone to ditch wool and flock to warm and cozy vegan clothing instead.”

PETA entities’ investigations have uncovered cruelty to sheep at over 100 wool industry operations worldwide—even at “responsible” farms, where workers have been documented punching, stomping, kicking, and throwing sheep. Shearers are usually paid by volume—not by the hour—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. Eco- and animal-friendly vegan fabrics—including linen, Tencel, and modal—are widely available at retailers everywhere.

The Wild Sheep Foundation recognizes that raising sheep for wool creates a major threat to wild sheep populations through the transmission of infectious diseases—yet it sells wool products on its website.

PETA’s message is located on S. Virginia Street near Crummer Lane. (Please see the Google Maps link here.)

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.