Thursday, September 1, 2011

Oh Good Lord, I Have to Ask....

Another of my what the heck? questions.  Sorry, bear with me.  But this one is really stupid.

I understand the vegan lifestyle and how stringent it is, but I think I just read the dumbest thing ever.  [And if any of my lovely homesteaders would like to chime in I would appreciate it because I think this is taking it too far.  Please own sheep. Or be a vegan. Or just sane. Sane works.]

A woman stated that she wouldn't accept wool gloves because she is a vegan.


Credit


Huh?

I get that vegans won't wear leather because you don't eat anything with a face, and cows have to be killed to get leather, but sheep are shorn [sheared? Deborah?].  While still alive. And are left alive after the process.  And they need to be shorn, at least once a year, to keep their coats healthy and keep them cooler in the summer months. Correct? [I know enough about animal husbandry to fill a thimble so someone tell me that this a good or bad thing for them. Please?]

I just thought it was one of the most over the top declarations I have ever read.  Wouldn't the wool on a sheep grow out, become matted and unmanageable after a while if you didn't sheer them?  What about llamas?  Where does this end?

Someone answer this please.  I have no idea what [I thought was] the humane act of shearing a sheep has to do with being a vegan.

To be clear, I have no problem with anyone's dietary choices, but just say you don't want wool gloves.  Don't throw in the vegan angle.  Unless someone tells me different I will continue to think this is a lot of hoohaw and a bit over the top.

I am off to aggravate entertain my dog by singing "Be Our Guest" off key.  No, really, she loves it. giggle

[I would appreciate a little insight into this, honest.]

14 comments:

Phelan said...

The problem lays with that we have messed with (domesticated) sheep to create a dependency over the hundreds of years. Hair sheep or ones that shed are natural. Shearing isn't natural. This is what I am suspecting the commenter/poster is talking about.

Hope that helps.

I love my sheep, both hair and woolies. shearing has to be done, and I comb out my hair sheep.

Julie said...

haven't a clue - and i dpn#t really care!!
No - seriously - i will respect your beliefs if you promise not to shove them in my face. I may not agree or understand, but i will respect them. So a bit of respect back please.

Southhamsdarling said...

The photo of that sheep is so funny, with all that wool! Afraid I can't really help you with this at all. I'm just a pleb that eats anything, I'm afraid!! Not sure about that comment about shearing not being natural. I guess you could say that us having our hair cut isn't natural, but we'd all be walking around on our hair if we didn't have it trimmed, and the poor sheep would be like that with the wool I would think. Anyway my friend, what do I know?!

Patty said...

Sounds like HooHa to me!

Anonymous said...

That's a lot of wool there - personally I like wool, it's so warming, but that's me coming from a cold country where we had to dress warm, and wool is the best. My grandmother was always making wool socks - and to have a pair in your boots in the winter, is very nice and warm. But that's my opinion....When it comes to food I eat almost anything :-)
Interesting post

Anonymous said...

OMG, I have never heard of anything like that - so crazy!

thanks for your well wishes today Skippy - my Mom is back home, has had some soup and is taking a nap right now. :D

Hugs!

Joe Sixtop said...

Yea, they should of just said, "No thank you" to wool gloves. However, some of them are all about not using anything animal-related, no matter what it does to the animal. My favorite vegatarian rock 'n' roll star, Chrissie B. Hynde of Pretenders wears a lot of leather clothes, so who knows what's up in folks minds. And if they need to be sheared sometimes,what goes on with them in nature?

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

Sounds like the vegan should've just said thanks, but no thanks. I don't want woolen gloves, either. Not because of any made-up dietary excuses, but because the stuff makes me itch.

Reminds me of our daughter. When she was little, she said, "I'd like to be a vegetarian." Then after a little more thought, she sighed and continued, "If only I liked vegetables . . ."

Lyndylou said...

lol some people are strange :)

Celia said...

I don't get that either.

Phelan said...

What I meant, was that wild sheep shed, while domesticated wool sheep do not. It's like breeding a poodle, you start out with a cur then breed it with other wild dogs that have the qualities you like until you get something that sinks to the bottom of a river unless you cut it's fur. A poodle was created by selective breeding, so has wooly sheep.

Some people feel that because this animal was "man-made" that we have no ethical responsibly toward them. And that their existence is cruel. So they stay clear away from anything that has to do with an animal. Many times these same people think your cats and dogs should not be pets, and that our domestication of these animals was cruel and uncalled for.

Does that make sense?

Jeannie said...

I think vegans mean well... but as they say, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.

We have un-naturalized many things. We have created creatures that are now dependent on us. What would happen to all the sheep and cows and goats if we all just decided not to use them any more. They have no skills to live in the wild and few people would continue to take care of them - certainly not farms full. Look at the poor cattle beasts - Holy Cows - wandering about India. They are not healthy or thriving. What kind of life would that be for such a beast?

If vegans think that plastic footwear and garments are more natural and kind to the planet than using animals which we breed and care for (somewhat - not too thrilled with factory farms) than they can continue on with their air-head ways.

My daughter is vegetarian. She used to refuse to wear leather but I got her on the plastic issue and she concedes that using leather - since others are eating the beasts anyway - is more beneficial. Plus leather belts last longer. She has never been against the use of wool - even when she tried to go vegan.

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

What the hell I do not get that I always though shearing was a good thing for the sheep.

Rudee said...

That's ok by me. I can use all of the wool I can get my hands on.

Perhaps that person would like quivit. It is musk ox or some such creature and people gather their fur that is shed upon rocks. Incredibly expensive, but a nice alternative.

Can i haz all the woolz, pleeze?