OAN Staff James Meyers
2:53 PM – Monday, December 30, 2024
Former disgraced “Today” show host Matt Lauer is being accused by animal rights activists of alleged abuse against animals at a sheep farm at his New Zealand hideaway.
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Lauer purchased the 16,000-acre (25-square-mile) area in New Zealand for just over $9 million in 2017, just months before he was fired from the morning show after multiple women accused him of rape and sexual harassment.
Currently, Lauer has leased a major part of the land to sheep farmers in the country, which is a heavy contributor to the wool trade. However, Lauer is not involved with the operation of the farm, called Hunter Valley Farming.
According to an undercover investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals into the Asia-Pacific wool industry, sheep at Hunter Valley Farming appeared to get abused, with some requiring stitches, during the shearing process, according to video footage the animal rights group shared.
“Matt Lauer’s New Zealand getaway is hell for scared sheep who are flung about, pinned down and cut up,” PETA president Ingrid Newkirk told the New York Post.
“PETA wants Lauer to wash his hands of the bloody wool business.”
Meanwhile, Lauer, who has never been charged and denied all allegations that led to his dismissal at NBC, reportedly sold his $44 million home in the Hamptons in 2022, so he could spend more time at his New Zealand residence.
A spokesperson for Lauer said he had “absolutely no knowledge of any alleged problems at his property” until the New York Post reached out for comment.
“(Lauer) was deeply disturbed and saddened to hear of what allegedly has happened, and immediately launched his own investigation of his tenant’s operations, which is currently underway,” the rep told the New York Post, adding that PETA has never contacted him with any complaints.
“When all the facts are known, he will take immediate and appropriate actions.”
New Zealand is known for having more sheep than actual people, and is the third-biggest wool producer across the globe. It produces so-called ZQ-certified wool, which is also marketed as “the world’s leading ethical wool brand.”
PETA also acknowledged it did not contact Lauer about the alleged abuse at the farm.
“When we notify companies and individuals implicated in our investigations, their usual reaction is to deny, deflect, and downplay the cruelty uncovered,” a PETA spokesperson told the New York Post.
“Publicly releasing undercover investigations before notifying implicated parties, like Mr. Lauer, holds them responsible and makes it impossible for them to ignore the cruelty they have the power to stop.”
The operators of Hunter Valley Farming Digby Cochrane and his wife, Hannah also stated Lauer reached out to them last week to talk about PETA’s allegations against him.
“At shearing time we employ independent shearing contractors, to shear the sheep, who work in accordance with New Zealand industry accepted guidelines and practices,” the Cochranes said in a statement to the New York Post.
Furthermore, Hunter Valley was among 11 farms PETA investigators worked at during the past year, while gathering video footage and taking notes that belong to a 48-page notarized affidavit.
“The horrific abuse that was documented at Hunter Valley is typical across wool operations,” PETA’s Jacqui Sadashige, manager of corporate responsibility, told The Post.
The other allegations include sheep allegedly being cut during the shearing process as they struggle with handlers. More alleged incidents include the sheep being lifted off and dropped onto the hard floor, and then forced through a shoot that leads to their pen.
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