Dorset village of Wool should change its name to Vegan Wool, animal rights group Peta claims
Residents ridicule letter to parish council suggesting ‘animal-friendly update’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Its name has been Wool for more than 1,000 years, but now an animal rights group has called on the Dorset village to change its name to “Vegan Wool” to take a stand against cruelty to sheep.
Peta made the request in a letter to the parish council, in which they also offered to supply every household in the parish with a blanket made out hemp, cotton or banana bark if they agreed.
Villagers ridiculed the suggestion – with many pointing out that Wool’s name derives from the old English word for well or spring rather than any association with animals.
They also raised concerns that campaigners could target other well-known names such as Hampshire, Cheddar Gorge and Lamborghini.
“The name Wool should remain as it is, the idea of renaming the village is utterly ridiculous,” wrote Jayne Merchant on the Wool parish clerk’s Facebook page. ”The most idiotic idea I have come across in a long time.”
Valerie Leak added: “Just suppose this ‘hare’-brained scheme went ahead, would Peta fund the costs of altering everything connected to the name because I rather doubt that a community without a village policeman, an underfunded medical centre and substandard roads and pavements is in a position to pay for it?”
The letter suggesting the name change, which Peta described as an “animal-friendly update”, will be discussed at the next meeting of the parish council in December.
“With a simple name change, your village can take a stand against this cruelty and remind everyone that it’s easy to stay warm and be warm-hearted to sheep by choosing vegan wool and other animal-free materials,” it reads.
One of the charity’s directors, Elisa Allen, said the group came up with the idea after failing to get much media attention for their campaign highlighting cruelty to sheep in the wool industry.
“We saw this as opportunity to spread the message,” she said. “We are hoping people are going to our website, watching our investigations into the British wool industry and turning their back on the trade.
“When we found out the village was called Wool we could not resist.”
Resident Anne Vincent disagreed: “The name Wool has nothing to do with sheep. It comes from the Saxon word for spring.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments