Does Cashmere hurt goats? Cruel harvesting claim explored as viral PETA protest video comes under fire

Over the weekend, outside the venue of the ongoing London Fashion Week, PETA supporters were seen protesting against the use of cashmere in the fashion industry. Cashmere is a fine-quality downy wool derived from the soft undercoat of Cashmere goats and is expensive in nature.

As part of the protest, a female PETA supporter was seen lying down on a table, topless, and dressed as a bloody goat, while a man wearing an apron posed as a farm worker trying to rip out the wool from her body using what appeared to be a large silver comb, reportedly leaving her with “bloody wounds.”

Around the protest site, the words “Cashmere is torture for goats” were written on the banner with PETA written below it.

Meanwhile, netizens have dug out the facts behind the production of this particular wool. Turns out, since goats are mammals, their wool, much like human hair, has no nerves. This means that shearing or combing them for wool does not hurt them. It is allegedly as painless as a haircut for humans if done properly.

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Cashmere goats do not get hurt if shearing and combing are done right

On Saturday, September 16, two PETA supporters protested against the use of cashmere in fashion in front of London’s Old Selfridges Hotel’s NEWGEN Venue, specifically decked up for the ongoing London Fashion Week.

The female protester posed as a goat with her hands and legs tied up, while the male protestor posed as a shearer, ripping wool from her body, as the former screamed out loud. Per a PETA spokesperson’s statement to the Daily Mail, it was PETA’s effort to “call for an end of the use of cashmere.”

To promote the idea that the upcoming years of fashion should be free of animal cruelty, the protest site carried the banner: “The future of fashion is vegan.” Kate Werner, PETA’s Senior Campaigns Manager, even told the news outlet:

“PETA is calling on the next generation of fashion designers to reject this abusive industry and instead choose compassionate vegan textiles that are kinder to animals and the planet.”

She further mentioned how cashmere is the hair that is “ripped from live, tied-up goats” who screech out of pain when they are sheared.

However, her claim turned out to be false. As per the Cashmere Goat Association (CGA), Cashmere goats shed their soft undercoat naturally, following which all that needs to be done is combing them when they begin shedding. This is completely pain-free. The website also mentions that if uncombed, the goats would “rub against the feeders and fence posts and deposit all of the cashmere there.”

The CGA also explained that PETA’s statement that when the goats are combed in winter, they can freeze and die is untrue, as the animals are immune to the cold weather.

In the wake of PETA’s recent protest at the London Fashion Week, the animal rights group has earned online backlash for choosing unsuitable ways of outcry. Here are some of the reactions in this regard:

A netizen trolls PETA, saying that its content is parodical. (Image via X/togv)

A netizen accuses PETA of using the wrong marketing strategy. (Image via X/Alex)

A netizen slams PETA for posting a factually wrong video. (Image via X/majestic tiger b*tthole)

A netizen criticizes PETA for making p*rnography instead of raising awareness. (Image via X/Mr.Spycrab1)

A netizen calls out PETA for being ignorant of the actual process of acquiring the wool. (Image via X/T1gertaylor (Von Gina))

A netizen calls PETA a pet-killer organization. (Image via X/R*ndy C)

A netizen slamming PETA for its recent protest at the London Fashion Week. (Image via X/Dudley Newright)

While shearing and combing goats for wool can be painless if done right, a 2019 study by PETA revealed how, in Asian countries such as China and Mongolia, traders forcefully rip apart wool and then send the animals to slaughterhouses for slow and painful deaths, following which the animals were used for their skin as meat.

So, PETA’s recent protest may have been about the unfair practice of torturing goats for the wool. Interestingly, as per PETA, one adult goat can produce 8.5 ounces of the expensive wool annually, and wool from approximately six goats can make one jacket. Apart from jackets, the material is also used to make trousers, scarves, gloves, and other winterwear.