Agreed, although that doesn’t answer the question of what we do with the sheep we’ve got right now. I think those historical questions are relevant and informative, but they don’t address the question of immediate action. Maybe sheep shouldn’t need to be sheared, but they do. What do we do about that, aside from ending their breeding?

Maybe I’m a bit of an idealist but I like to imagine a vegan society having animals that play productive and even economic roles in human society, but with dignity, rights, and safety. I can see a world where small farms keep sheep for wool production, but without the vast economic pressures that make it so horrifically exploitative and cruel today.