CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- PETA -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals -- did some holiday caroling in the Loop Thursday afternoon to try to get other people to stop wearing wool.
A sextet of PETA activists dressed in acrylics and cotton serenaded the crowd at the Christkindlmarket. They sang familiar tunes but altered the lyrics.
For example: "I'm Dreaming of a Kind Christmas."
Tricia Lebkuecher of Nashville is a PETA senior campaigner.
"Shearing sheep is not just a haircut. PETA has done 11 exposes into the wool industry in just five years,” she said. "And in every single one, we've seen people punching sheep, beating sheep, and they always end up at the slaughterhouse having their throats slit."
Chase Adams, a spokesman for the American Sheep Industry Association, said in a statement: "Farmers and ranchers who raise sheep in the United States take great pride in the care they provide for their animals and do not condone or defend mistreatment or abuse of sheep either intentionally or unintentionally."