Factory Farmed Goats and Sheep
In 2020, the USDA reported that 624,400 goats and over 2 million sheep and lambs were slaughtered. Goats are raised for their meat and milk. Sheep are raised for their milk; and other body parts are used to make glue, gelatin, lanoline, surgical sutures, and strings for musical instruments and tennis rackets.
Farmed Goats’ Life
- Goats are raised for their meat and milk.
- Large numbers of goats are cruelly slaughtered for halal or kosher meat.
- Goats are kept outdoors subjected to extreme weather conditions.
- Kid goats are subjected to torturous procedures such as disbudding and castration .
Farmed Sheep Life
- Sheep are often shorn in the middle of winter without thought to the animal’s discomfort.
- Lambs may endure tail-docking with no anesthesia.
- Sheep are subjected to the torturous procedure of mulesing to prevent fly-strike.
- Lambs are only allowed one feeding after birth before being taken away.
- Ewes are continuously impregnated to keep them producing milk.
Death of Sheep and Goat
- They are packed into trucks with no regard for their comfort for transport to the slaughterhouse.
- Goats are sent up a chute where they are knocked unconscious with a bolt pistol prior to slaughter.
- They are shackled by their hind leg and lifted into the air to be cut open and bled out.
- They sometimes regain consciousness to experience their horrific death.
Take Action to Help Goats and Sheep
- Substitute veggie and soy-based products for animal-based milk, meat, and cheese.
- Substitute synthetic materials for leather and wool.
- Find a vegetarian group in your area and attend a meeting.
- Visit a farm sanctuary and get to know the sentient creatures goats and sheep truly are.
- Learn more about factory farming and educate others.
- Support legislation to require stricter regulation and enforcement of animal farming welfare and treatment laws.
- Download and print or mail order NHES’ Factory Farms brochure to distribute in your community.
