Statistically, one in every 12 rams in the world is attracted only to other males. Often, this leads to them being sent to slaughter: farmers don’t want to care for and feed an animal if it won’t produce offspring. But in western Germany, 52-year-old Michael Stücke refused to accept this reality. He seeks out gay rams for his farm, Rainbow Wool, and buys them.
"Every animal should be treated with dignity, should live with dignity, and should die with dignity.", — Stucke said in an interview with reporters from *The Washington Post*. According to the newspaper, there are about 500 sheep on Stucke’s farm, 35 of which are rescued gay rams.
However, Michael not only rescues gay rams, but also helps organizations that defend the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. In 2024, together with his husband, Stücke, he organized the production of caps, shoelaces, and patches made from the wool of gay sheep. He then donated all the proceeds to the human rights organization LSVD+.
The promotional campaign was supported at the time by Bill Kaulitz, the lead singer of Tokio Hotel. And yes, his jumpsuit was also made from the wool of gay sheep.
However, Rainbow Wool didn’t stop there. In 2025, they teamed up with the dating app Grindr and put on an entire fashion show in New York. They called it “I wool survive” (which in Russian would probably sound something like “I’ll be-e-survive”). ▼
▲ The collection was created by designer Michael Schmidt, who has previously worked on looks for Lady Gaga, rapper Doja Cat, and singer Cher, among others. For the “sheep” fashion show, he created 37 looks based on cultural archetypes popular among gay men.
While working on the collection, Schmidt visited the Stücke farm in Germany—and was surprised by just how positive and kind the gay rams turned out to be. The farmer himself explained to reporters that they deliberately try to create a positive atmosphere for the animals—after all, excessive stress not only harms their mental well-being but also contributes to thinning or loss of wool.
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