Updated February 13, 2025

If you are a sanctuary taking care of species bred for their wool or fiber, there will come a time when they will need to be sheared to keep them comfortable. Typically, a resident who has been bred for their fiber will have to be shorn once or twice a year, normally towards the beginning of the hot season. Choosing not to shear them will cause discomfort, increase heat sensitivity, and increase the risk of health challenges like Pizzle End Rot and skin conditions due to ammonia buildup. But what do you do with all the wool and fiber that is left over?

When performed with skill and great care, shearing a resident should not be any more painful for them than a human getting a haircut. However, they may have to be uncomfortably restrained due to their aversion to the loud shearing buzzer, especially as it nears their face. It is best to start building trust and introducing aspects of shearing using positive reinforcement techniques before they need to be sheared. This allows time for residents to become familiar with the process and hopefully feel calmer when it comes time. It is possible to find shearers who are very mindful of the residents, even if they may have differing opinions on the value of a resident’s life. It is important to communicate what techniques are and are not acceptable.

Why We Encourage Alternatives To Selling Wool And Fiber
While it may seem innocent enough to raise funds by selling a resident’s wool or fiber, it can send the message that animals and their bodies are products for human use, something sanctuaries try hard to avoid. We know sanctuaries are trying to do their best for their residents and learning every day! (We are too!) Because of this, we wrote a resource about how to avoid direct and indirect harmThe infliction of mental, emotional, and/or physical pain, suffering, or loss. Harm can occur intentionally or unintentionally and directly or indirectly. Someone can intentionally cause direct harm (e.g., punitively cutting a sheep's skin while shearing them) or unintentionally cause direct harm (e.g., your hand slips while shearing a sheep, causing an accidental wound on their skin). Likewise, someone can intentionally cause indirect harm (e.g., selling socks made from a sanctuary resident's wool and encouraging folks who purchase them to buy more products made from the wool of farmed sheep) or unintentionally cause indirect harm (e.g., selling socks made from a sanctuary resident's wool, which inadvertently perpetuates the idea that it is ok to commodify sheep for their wool). in a sanctuary environment. Check it out! And we also wrote a resource on alternative ways to fundraise!

Sanctuary Approaches To Wool And Fiber Disposal

If you have fiber-producing residents at your sanctuary, you will have a lot of it to deal with after a year! How you decide to manage the wool and fiber left can depend on a number of factors. Each sanctuary has its own Philosophy of Care (ethical and philosophical principles that guide care decisions). You will find sanctuaries have different practices when choosing how to dispose of wool and fiber. Sometimes it is helpful to learn what others have chosen to do so you have a better idea of what options are available to you. Let us look at four ways different sanctuaries have chosen to handle wool and fiber.

Wool For Wildlife

Many different kinds of wild animals are experts at using organic, biodegradable materials (and sadly, garbage from human pollution) to build comfortable nests for themselves and their families. By giving the wool back to nature, some sanctuaries provide a new perspective to visitors about not valuing residents for what they can provide for humans, but treating them as complex individuals who deserve to exist for their own sake. You can see if anyone finds it useful by putting a small amount out and seeing what happens. Some sanctuaries have said they simply leave the fiber near the edge of a forested area on their property and this has worked for them. However, they only have a few sheep residents.

Support Wildlife Rehabilitation

Not Safe For Everyone!
It is important to note that anything string-like over one inch long can pose a hazard for birds or other small animals if it wraps around their neck or appendages. Additionally, some have noted that it isn’t ideal to give to rabbitUnless explicitly mentioned, we are referring to domesticated rabbit breeds, not wild rabbits, who may have unique needs not covered by this resource. residents as they may ingest some of the fiber, causing serious health problems. One way to navigate this is to reach out to the wildlife rehad centers near you and ask how they would prefer receiving fiber. Some recommend making a loosely stuffed pillows for those that may need extra warmth.

Some sanctuaries donate wool and fiber to wildlife rehabilitation centers for recovering individuals and release efforts. Much like how free wildlife can use wool and fiber for nest building, so can wildlife in rehabilitation centers. Offering wool or fiber to captive wildlife allows them to learn or perform the necessary skills they will need to live in the wild. You might be surprised how many wild friends would use wool to build their nests. Recovering birds, squirrels, mice, and other species in a rehabilitation program might use fiber to build nesting areas!

Compost: A Waste Management Solution

Many sanctuaries compost as part of waste management plans. Sanctuaries can add fiber, used bedding, soiled hay or straw, and food and resident waste into their compost pile. If done properly, composting can reduce parasite and fly populations, limit offensive odors, and be spread onto pasture lands. This prevents sanctuaries from becoming overwhelmed by waste. You can learn more about composting at your sanctuary in our Composting 101: The Scoop On Poop resource. For information on manure management specifically, check out the resources below.

Introduction To Manure Management For Farmed Animal Sanctuaries

Advanced Manure Management: Putting Planning Into Action

Donate To Oil Spill Clean Up Efforts

Another alternative is to give the wool to organizations or people working to clean up an oil spill. Oil spills have a devastating impact at an ecological level, but also at the individual level, with many animals becoming ill or dying from the destructive pollution. Mats are made from wool or fiber to soak up the oil devastating the environment. organizations that make these mats generally request that searing take place on a blanket or other floor covering in order to prevent straw, bedding, rocks, or other debris from being swept up with their wool or fiber.

Thank you for checking out our resource on ways to dispose of wool and fiber. We hope you found it helpful! If your sanctuary has found another alternative not listed here, we would love to hear about it. Remember, the alternatives discussed above may not fully align with every sanctuary’s philosophy of care. Each sanctuary should bring staff together and write policies and guidelines so everyone can be on the same page. Hopefully, this gives you and your sanctuary team some options to think about which method of wool and fiber disposal aligns most with your views and values!

Looking to share this information in an accessible way with other sanctuaries and supporters? Check out and share our infographic below!

What To Do With Wool by Amber D Barnes