Disturbing video shows workers brutally kicking and punching sheep in the head, standing on their necks and leaving them for dead

This is the revolting footage captured by an undercover investigator who worked at 25 farms in England in May and June, who aimed to send it to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) for further investigation.

In the video, the innocent sheep were seen to be slammed to the ground mercilessly, as the workers roughly shear off their wool. Due to their crude and rushed shaving technique, the workers often wound the animals, and would stitch up wounds on the stop with no anaesthetic, causing the poor animal to scream in pain.

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"The shearers are paid between 85p and £1 per sheep, so they are incentivised to work as quickly as possible," said the investigator, who preferred to remain unnamed. 

"The sheep don't like being sheared so they struggle a bit. When it's a hot day and they are really tired the shearers would often completely lose it and take it out on the animals. 

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"It was extremely common to see that; workers punching or kicking sheep, throwing them around or stamping on their necks to pin them down.

"If the sheep were cut while they were being sheared then the worker would just get a needle and thread out and sew the wound up as quickly as possible with no anaesthetic. 

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"By stopping to do that he was losing money so it was always rushed and you could see the animal was in huge pain."

Andrew Butler, the spokesman for PETA Asia accused the industry of ignoring animal welfare, saying: "They are prey animals and as soon as you isolate one from the flock to shear them or transport them that causes immediate distress to that animal."

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One offended netizen commented: "Sadistic bullies. Cowards usually express themselves, by picking on, or hurting someone weaker than themselves."

BERLIN (AP) — Pedestrians in the German city of Nuremberg made way for hundreds of bleating sheep on Sunday as a flock of the animals was herded through downtown on its way to its winter quarters.

Curious bystanders, cellphones in hand to capture the sight, lined the streets as the roughly 600 animals in shepherd Thomas Gackstatter's flock hurried past on what has become a popular annual spectacle.

The sheep were on their way to winter pastures west of Nuremberg from the city, where Gackstatter's sheep and other herds are used in various meadows over the summer to keep the grass neat.

It's a trip of over 10 kilometers (just over 6 miles), which takes the flock through the central market square, the Hauptmarkt, German news agency dpa reported. Gackstatter says that, as far as he knows, Nuremberg is the only place in Germany where sheep cross the central square. The city has about 540,000 inhabitants.

Ahead of their passage, city authorities asked people to keep the route clear and keep dogs away from the sheep — a mixture of various breeds. Drones weren't allowed.

Nuremberg isn't the only German city where sheep are used as lawnmowers. They also graze in at least some places in Berlin, Potsdam, Augsburg, Ulm and others. The sheep's slow munching makes for insect-friendly grass care, helping preserve biodiversity, and also saves city authorities the costs of mowing.

And for shepherds, the arrangement provides a place to put their sheep at a time when open spaces have become increasingly scarce.

Sheep pass by the Wöhrder See on their way to the winter pastures, in Nuremberg, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Daniel Löb/dpa via AP)

Tim Gackstatter, left and Dirk Gissel lead sheep past the Frauenkirche and the main market square in Nuremberg's city center, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Daniel Löb/dpa via AP)

People watch sheep on their way to the winter pastures, in Nuremberg, Germany, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025. (Daniel Löb/dpa via AP)