PETA anti-shearing sheep statue installed in former wool capital of world

SAN ANGELO, Texas ( Concho Valley Homepage ) — Residents of San Angelo, Texas, a city heralded as the former wool and mohair capital of the world, have been surprised with the arrival of a controversial art installation — a sheep statue advocating for an end to the wool industry.

The sheep, named “E(nd) Shearin'” after singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, was sponsored by PETA and unveiled on Tuesday, July 2, at noon in front of the town’s City Hall Annex building. The statue features an illustration drawn by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss that depicts several sheep holding signs that protest shearing and wool products.

“PETA’s ‘E(n)d Shearin” statue reminds everyone that sheep are sensitive, intelligent animals who love their families deeply and feel fear and pain when they are cut to ribbons for wool,” PETA special projects manager Jakob Shaw said. “We want everyone to know that, if they want to help protect gentle sheep from this violence, they can do so by no longer buying wool.”

According to Shaw, the statue will be on display inside the annex building throughout the month of July. Afterward, the sheep may be transported to other cities across the nation for future display opportunities.

The sheep joins a fiberglass flock called the “Sheep Spectacular, ” a series of approximately 110 sheep statues that have dotted the town’s landscape since 2007. Businesses and other groups within the city commonly commission the art installations, entrusting local artists with designing a sheep to be publicly displayed on their behalf.

The anti-shearing statue garnered outrage online from San Angelo residents, with hundreds of comments and posts across social media expressing anger with the installation and PETA for the sheep’s intended message. Some have even suggested commissioning additional sheep statues advocating for shearing or displaying where cuts of lamb are located on a sheep’s body.

“Why is this so-called ‘art’ being allowed?!” one commentator said on Facebook . “The sheep we see around town represent this community, and it’s an honor to have one! PETA does not represent San Angelo or its values!!”

Talk of PETA’s sheep began in December 2023, when PETA claimed that the City of San Angelo’s Public Art Commission violated its First Amendment rights by refusing its application to create the statue and display it in the town’s downtown area on grounds of it being “not fit for downtown” and “contrary to San Angelo’s history.” San Angelo was formerly the world’s leading market in the production of wool and mohair, a title it held during the 20th century and still cherishes as part of its history despite having since been ousted.

PETA stated that it would “be forced to consider its legal remedies” by Dec. 27, 2023, unless the City reconsidered its initial decision. No legal action would be taken, however, as the application would be accepted by the City Council and City manager before PETA’s imposed deadline. Carl White, Parks and Recreation director of the City of San Angelo and the staff liaison for the Public Art Commission, previously stated that the commission acts as an advisory board and does not hold decisive power over the “Sheep Spectacular.”

“The City Attorney told the council that the First Amendment gives strong rights to citizens, and since the City already had an art program to place art in public places, the recommendation from the Public Art Commission did start to infringe on PETA’s First Amendment rights,” White said.

Several potential locations were discussed before it was eventually agreed upon to place the statue in the City Hall Annex building. Previous locations included public property at Sunken Garden Park and Firefighters Memorial City Park.

With the arrival of the statue to the once-wool capital, PETA discussed the statue and its implications in an article of its own .

“Our statue is finally bringing a sheep’s perspective to San Angelo, where it will encourage people to have empathy for these gentle, sensitive animals with complex emotional lives,” PETA said.

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