People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) recently submitted a complaint accusing an Australian sheep shearing facility of verbally abusing animals. A debate has now arisen on whether sheep can be offended by bad language.
Last year, a New South Wales branch of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) received a tip that animals were allegedly mistreated, including verbal abuse. The complaint wasn't solely about verbal abuse, but the use of offensive language was a key element in the complaint.
According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, PETA obtained footage and testimony from someone working undercover at the facility. The footage was allegedly not legally usable, so the case relied heavily on oral evidence.
"We felt the footage was inadmissible, and therefore we relied on what oral evidence came from both parties," said Steve Coleman, CEO of NSW RSPCA.
The operator of the facility, Ken Turner, noted that the complaint suggests that the sheep could understand English:
"The basis for the concerns was the rights of the animals, that they might have been harassed by viewing things they shouldn't have seen or verbal abuse by people using bad language. To my knowledge, there was no actual cruelty on the job. The allegation was that bad language was used by an employee on the property in front of the sheep, and that they could have been offended by the use of bad language."
Time Magazine said Nichola Donovan, the president of Lawyers for Animals, argued that verbal abuse could constitute "an act of violence" against an animal.
PETA has since dropped the complaint, but the issue is still heavily debated.
