A PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) abuse complaint was lodged against a farmer from Australia because bad langauge was used in front of his animals. Ken Turner, a farmer from New South Wales, received a visit from the RSPCA due to complaints made by PETA.
The group, which obtained footage from an undercover worker at the farm, alleged his shearers caused distress to the animals with their colourful language.
According to a report by the Newcastle Herald, Turner said the sheep didn’t seem to take offence.
‘‘I still haven’t had a sheep come to me (to complain) – they didn’t even look offended to me after they were shorn,” he said.
‘‘They just walked down to the paddock, grazed intently, and I didn’t notice any distress attached to them.’’
However, PETA maintains that the sheep can understand English and were disturbed by the swearing. The group also claimed the sheep were abused physically.
The case has since been dropped.
(Source – Irish Farmers Journal – 25/05/2015)