Here at Benridge Woolworks, animal welfare and kindness to animals is our top priority. It’s welfare before any monetary gain in every area.

One of the main differences which sets UK wool apart from anywhere else in the world is the strict animal welfare code which the UK farmers have to abide by and in our case even further than that of basic UK law.

When sourcing our wool breeders and shepherds either come from several high recommendations, hold committee positions of responsibility and/or are on site visited by ourselves when we call to collect. We do shearing checks to ensure that during shearing that alpacas, sheep, goats are treated with care

Mulesing is absolutely illegal in the UK thankfully and we will not buy wool from animals undergoing severe health needs such as abscess/fly strike etc

The natural reaction of a sheep is to flight and bumping a sheep hurdle when startled is a natural reaction which doesn’t cause injury but it is to be minimised as far as possible. There is to be no rough handling or temper loss what so ever under ANY circumstances. Our suppliers we are proud to say have their sheep as pride of place on their farms and smallholdings and have patience and placid natures so they in turn ensure the shearers who are booked to shear the animals have the same attitude. If even after thorough checks that we are ever put in a position where there has been an animal welfare issue from suppliers then we stop purchases with immediate effect. Sheep must be shorn on a basis of animal welfare and so this is all promoted in the yearly event of shearing sheep, alpacas and goats.

Lameness happens a lot in flocks as does a lot of other things, particularly with sheep and it is absolutely evident that our suppliers provide immediate medical attention to those animals to promote their recovery. Upon visits to our suppliers we are proud to say that we have seen very little lameness.

Again, animals with poor health are not shorn to provide us with wool. We require clean fleeces from healthy animals should that decision have to be met and with our own very clean, disease free flock it is in our best interests to source clean wool from healthy flocks.

For cats and dogs, our wool products, especially our rug ranges provide comfort and nourishment to pets and they aren’t breathing in poly microfibres. Natural items make pets feel relaxed and stimulated which is always good for their welfare.

Wildlife health is promoted by the switch to wool instead of plastic waste entering our landscape and washing microplastics into waterways. Both land and aquatic health are promoted.

With our saddle flocking, horses are more comfortable to work under saddle with no lumps or bumps in material taking the weight of the rider on their backs. Tack comfort equals happy horses. For horse hair we donate generously to various horse welfare charities to promote the recovery on unloved, neglected horses by donating money to buy their feed, see to feet, promoting their first big groom which trims off their over long mane and tails and makes their skin healthy again before they end up with someone who will love and take care for them for the rest of their lives. Extra care has been taken to ensure our sponsored riders train their horses sympathetically at all times.

Any further questions regarding our animal welfare policy please contact us and we will be happy to respond. Equally we hope that if there is ever a cause for concern or something to report regarding animal welfare related to our supply chain and activities please contact us at info@benridgewoolworks.co.uk