Goats

The cashmere and mohair industry relies on unimaginable violence against goats, primarily in China and Mongolia, which together account for 90% of global production. As documented by the PETA Asia investigation titled Groundbreaking Exposé: Goats Thrown, Cut, and Killed for Mohair, these sensitive animals endure unspeakable suffering throughout their lives, from brutal shearing to bloody slaughter.

1. BRUTAL SHEARING AND UNTREATED MUTILATIONS

During fiber harvesting, goats scream in pain and terror as workers literally rip off their coats, slicing away strips of flesh and skin in the process. Investigators filmed workers pinning goats to the ground and standing on them, twisting their limbs into unnatural positions while ripping out their hair using sharp metal combs. Farmers themselves admit that this shearing is extremely traumatic. Being abruptly stripped of their fleece leaves goats defenseless against freezing cold and respiratory illnesses. The open, bloody wounds inflicted by the combs never receive veterinary care or painkillers; as a "remedy," workers have been filmed pouring sake alcohol directly into the open gashes of the animals.

2. BARBARIC SLAUGHTER AND SLOW DEATHS

When goats are no longer considered profitable for fiber production, they are discarded in the most cruel ways possible. In slaughterhouses in China, employees violently strike the animals on the head with a hammer in a crude and often unsuccessful attempt to stun them. In Mongolia, the killing takes place right on the floor: workers drag goats by a single leg across the slaughterhouse before slitting their throats while fully conscious, right in front of their terrified herd-mates. The animals are then thrown onto a filthy floor to slowly bleed out, agonizing and still moving for long minutes after having their throats cut.