Roughly 10% of all sheep are gay. No, we’re not pulling the wool over your eyes. In fact, many species in the animal kingdom exhibit homosexual behaviour, but that’s not (yet) of importance for Rainbow Wool, a new initiative designed to save gay rams from an almost certain death.
On a farm, rams that don’t mate are considered useless (or ewe-sless, if you will) and can end up in slaughterhouses. Rainbow Wool identifies those ‘black’ sheep and relocates them to a little farm in North-Rhine Westphalia, run by shepherd Michael Stücke, a member of the Gayfarmer association. But the initiative’s mission goes beyond sparing the lives of innocent woollybacks.
Michael was able to make the farmers understand that this is a serious project … But he also lost some business partners.
In 62 countries, homosexuality is punishable by death, meaning that people around the world are still killed for not conforming to societal expectations. By rescuing the sheep, Rainbow Wool wants to make a statement against the persecution and oppression of LGBTQ+ people globally. The project was conceived by the Cologne-based creative agency Serviceplan.
“Through a personal connection, someone knew Michael. And Michael had mentioned that there are a lot of gay sheep, and that it’s totally normal. When you get a real-life insight like that, it spreads pretty quickly in our agency,” explains Schakir Islamow, one of the creatives who brought the project to life.
“We developed that further and said to Michael, ‘Come, we’ll start the first gay herd of sheep.’” Stücke was integral to the project. “He was able to make the farmers understand that this is a serious project … But he also lost some business partners.”
Today, gay rams from all across the country live on Stücke’s farm, and their wool is turned into yarn in a laborious process. This yarn is sold to other companies and used to create Rainbow Wool products, including hats, shoelaces and patches, which are available for purchase on the initiative’s website. All proceeds go to Serviceplan’s charity partners: the Berlin-based LSVD+, Germany’s largest queer rights organisation and the associated Hirschfeld Eddy Foundation.
Since its launch in September, Rainbow Wool, which proudly claims to have “the world’s first gay herd”, has already garnered nation-wide attention. Famous ambassadors like Tokio Hotel frontman (and Heidi Klum’s brother-in-law) Bill Kaulitz have lent their support, and national publications like Süddeutsche Zeitung have picked up the story.
For the initial campaign, Berlin fashion designers Kilian Kerner and Danny Reinke created a custom outfit for Kaulitz using wool from the gay rams. The mesh jumpsuit sweater combo is set to be auctioned off in the coming months, and a new collection of jumpers, designed by Mark Krayenhoff van de Leur (the husband of artist AA Bronson) is in development.
Everyone involved in this project, from Kaulitz to Kerner to Stücke, is working on a voluntary basis because they believe in the cause, Islamow explains. Even Serviceplan, which funded the campaign and bought the sheep, will never see a cent. “This is a loss-making business for us,” says Islamow. “It’s a flagship project … we want to show the things you can do with a creative idea.”
If an €80 hat is out of your budget but you still want to support the initiative, you can also adopt a sheep for as little as €10. Your contribution helps Stücke cover the cost of food and care for the flock. You herd it here first!
