We don’t have to tell you how adorable sheep are. I mean, look at these cuties! ?

Sheep hang out in groups called flocks and care for each other. Sheep can also recognize their friends’ faces even after they’ve been separated for years. Check out these other cool facts about these gentle, sensitive animals:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHSE3i2S5po

Like all animals, sheep feel pain, fear, and loneliness. But because some people want to buy their fleece, the wool industry treats them as nothing more than wool-producing machines.

Many sheep used for wool are bred to have a lot more wool than they naturally would. Workers who cut or shave off sheep’s wool (in a process called “shearing”) are often paid by how much they can get, so they do it as fast as possible—meaning that a lot of the animals get hurt. Sheep used for their wool often have holes punched in their ears and their tails cut off—both without painkillers.

Footage from a recent PETA international exposé of both Australian and U.S. shearing sheds even revealed that workers violently punched and stomped on sheep and hit them in the head with sharp metal clippers and a hammer. ?

The use of wool for clothing and other products hurts sheep, but you can help them! Here’s how:

1. Never wear wool, and tell your friends and family to do the same. Don’t forget to let them know how easy it is to find wool-free clothing.
2. Are you as excited to see Shaun the Sheep as we are? If so, download and print FREE leaflets to hand out to moviegoers urging them to let sheep like Shaun keep their wool.