Vienna/Sydney, 10 October 2024 – Australian actress Danielle Macdonald (Dumplin’, Bird Box) and US actor and producer Scott Evans (Barbie, Grace and Frankie) joined forces with global animal welfare organisation FOUR PAWS  to save more than ten million Australian lambs per year from excruciating pain. Together they fight to put an end to a cruel routine mutilation called live lamb cutting (mulesing) which is practiced for over a century in the Australian wool industry. It involves a substantial cut into few weeks old lambs’ buttocks with shears. In the short animated movie “Be Their Voice” Macdonald and Evans lend their voices to fictional characters lamb Sunny and science student Jesse, who both try to let lambs speak through the possibilities of AI. The ultimate goal of the global campaign is to raise public awareness and to urge international fashion brands and policymakers to ban live lamb cutting in Australia by 2030.

20 years after the Australian wool industry failed its promise to end live lamb cutting FOUR PAWS is launching the Be Their Voice campaign to demand a ban within the next six years. To kick off the campaign FOUR PAWS released a star-studded animated video. Australian actress Danielle Macdonald recognised for her roles in Dumplin' alongside Jennifer Aniston, and Bird Box together with Sandra Bullock narrates the voice of lamb Sunny, while American actor Scott Evans known for his performances in Grace and Frankie and the blockbuster Barbie takes over Jesse’s part.

Evans adds: “I was shocked when FOUR PAWS told me about live lamb cutting, something I have never even heard of before. I had no idea that such a barbaric practice could still exist in 2024. As an animal lover, I knew I had to do something to help end this. I was more than happy to support FOUR PAWS with their animated video by providing the voice for Jesse – and even happier to learn that an Aussie accent was not required! It was a blast getting to hang out in the studio with my friend Danielle to bring Sunny’s story to life. Hopefully, Sunny’s story will bring awareness to people around the world and be part of the change that will lead to better protection of lambs in Australia.”

The most invasive lamb mutilation in the world: Live lamb cutting

The procedure of live lamb cutting is practiced to prevent flystrike, even though, pain-free alternatives are available and proven by the industry. Australia is the world's largest wool producer contributing 70 per cent of the apparel wool used in the global fashion industry and 81 per cent of world’s superfine wool. Thus, live lamb cutting is a global problem driven by the worldwide demand for wool. 

Rebecca Picallo Gil, Animal Welfare in Wool Campaign Lead at FOUR PAWS, says: ”To understand the extent of suffering that is inflicted on lambs often as young as two weeks for the likes of woolen sweaters, suits or activewear, it is best to look at concrete figures: If one was to line up every piece of skin and flesh that is cut off from Australian lambs’ buttocks in the last 20 years, one could fill three Olympic-sized swimming pools. Australia remains the sole nation clinging to this inhumane practice. The pain of live lamb cutting lasts for days, wounds take weeks to heal, and the scars last a lifetime.”

“I hope that people will watch the video and learn that there are other ways, pain-free ways, of achieving the same end result. Most importantly, I hope there will be a shift in the Australian wool industry and that farmers, and I know there are many who love their animals, will follow in New Zealand’s footsteps and switch to the pain-free alternatives that are available, and that live lamb cutting will finally be phased out,” concludes Macdonald.

Making of Be Their Voice 

Rowena Wyles, Creative Director at Catsnake, the creative lead of the animation video says: “We wanted to draw people in with humour and heart before delivering the shocking truth of the practice. The Stop-motion animation allowed us to bring Sunny’s story to life in a way that felt compelling and tangible. Bewilder, the production studio, have been brilliant. The sets, props and lighting are all made in Bewilder's in-house studio. The 3D animated Characters were placed in afterwards.”

Ruan Vermeulen, Creative Director at the animation studio Bewilder, says: “This animation video is more than a project – it´s a mission to effect real change.”

• Here is the link to the Be Their Voice Campaign Video.  
• Here is the link to a short Documentary of the Broken Promise. 

Background  

The global movement of fashion brands against live lamb cutting is gaining momentum, with over 300 brands publicly committed to certified live lamb cut-free wool (mulesing-free) and 90 international companies that have signed FOUR PAWS’ Brand Letter of Intent, including Hugo Boss, Adidas and most recently Mango. These brands are not just committed to a future free of live lamb cutting they also directly call on the Australian wool industry and government to end the practice by 2030. 

Daniell Macdonald & Scott Evans 

Danielle Macdonald is an Australian actress known for her breakout lead role in “Patti Cake$” as well as starring as the title character opposite Jennifer Aniston in “Dumplin'”. She also appeared opposite Sandra Bullock in Netflix's hit “Bird Box” and in the Oscar-winning short film “Skin”. Currently, she can be seen in the thriller series “The Tourist”. Danielle lives with her rescue pets in Los Angeles and adopted a plant-based diet.

Scott Evans is an American actor and producer known for his roles in the Netflix hit show “Grace and Frankie” and Greta Gerwig’s record-breaking blockbuster “Barbie”.  He will next be seen in Mindy Kaling’s forthcoming series “Running Point”. Scott lives with his rescue dog in Los Angeles, is an advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights and is the younger brother of actor Chris Evans.