Madonna has outraged animal rights groups by dyeing her pet sheep different colors for a photo shoot.

The 'Hung Up' singer and her director husband Guy Ritchie have been branded "irresponsible" after coloring their sheep blue, pink, yellow and green for a Vogue spread at their English country estate, in Wiltshire.

A spokesman for the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) said: "Why is it necessary and what are they trying to prove? It is an irresponsible publicity stunt."

The couple say the shoot - which will feature in new book 'Vogue Living: House, Gardens, People' - was staged in homage to legendary photographer Cecil Beaton. The noted portrait photographer lived on the $18 million Ashcombe Estate during the 30s and 40s.

Madonna, 49, and Guy, 39, also insisted the dye used was temporary and did not harm the animals.

However, the RSPCA do not accept their reasoning, and are adamant the stunt could lead to dangerous copycat incidents.

The source added: "We would really question the need to do it. It really does send out the wrong message about how to use animals.

"Animals used in this sort of publicity stunt can lead to copycats. Even if the dye used in this instance is safe for the animals, other people might copy it with a dye that isn't safe."

'Vogue Living: House, Gardens, People' profiles 36 homes and gardens of the rich and famous.



Madonna is known for this kind of stuff. It's part of her persona.

Check your email!

Madonna dyed her sheep!! Oh no, what is the world coming to!!

Seriously, wtf!? I don’t see the big deal. These nuts need to get off their high horses and shut the fuck up.

daaaaaamn, not a good pic of Madge. just goes to show even an assload of botox can’t help some people.

Can’t they just use photoshop?

Her teeth could stand a little dye.

What’s with the botoxed forehead?  Ewwwww.

Oh brother. I used to do this to my bichon for St Pattys..a water spray bottle with water and a little food coloring is all it takes. These animal rights folks need to focus on more important stuff, alarmist hysterics! The lot of them.

RSPCA must be stupid!

The Vogue photos were shot in 2004, published in August 2004. What were they doing in the last 3 years? Hybernating? Or do they have lamb brains that make them think and speak three years after an event takes place? Or do they desperately need public attention?

Bastards!
Get real!

Then such words as “animal lovers” and “petting” must be prohibited, because some copy cats may start to fuck their animals (with a forplay, of course)

Fucking Madonna. Her teeth can really stand to use a good bleaching. Ugly N!gger-loving sow.
Why don,t the cow just retire and go to hell?

Oh PLEASE. They act like dying animals is a new thing that could become an unhealthy craze. Apparently they are forgetting all the idiots that dye their standard poodles.

its a new vogue shoot, not the old one

BUT

vogue did it, not madonna.  art directors do that shit

and what kind of “unsafe” dye will copycats use - feria?????  so dumb.

they call it a publicity stunt, but they get the publicity.  hypocrites

isnt some debutante carrying a chihuahua that they shoudl care about?

Animal rights groups get angered at everything. Do they bitch about jockeys riding on the back of those poor horses? What about zoos…the animals should be free my god this is such a cruel world.

j devon = major issues.

it’s really sad to see someone so full hate and nastiness. someone’s momma didn’t hug them enough.

Gambitgirl - have to agree with you about j devon. Yikes!

Pffft, eventually the wool gets dyed anyway.

While I’m definitely for animal rights, I think that it degrades an organization’s mission and credibilty to place so much attention on such a relatively negligeable offense.  Focus your time and your member’s money on the millions of actually horrendous crimes committed by humans against life.  Otherwise, you just make your organization look bad and spread the wrong word about your followers.

I think we could all agree that animals should be treated in a humane and respectful way by humans.  But when stupid shit like this gets in the way though, these progressive non-profits shoot themselves in the foot.

Coloring the sheep is more asinine than deadly. However, the telling part is that it was done as an homage to someone else’s work.  Everything she does is a copy of someone else’s creativity and always has been.  Ridiculous and ugly people do ridiculous and ugly things…what do people expect?

and ugly and ridiculous people do ridiculous and ugly things like post shit like that.  i am sure cinnamon is a true original - never did anythign that anyone else has done.  like post comments on blogs.

right, because we all have sheep and tins of paint lying around just ready to “copycat” anything Madonna does.
Fucking idiot preachers. Who gives a shit.

By their reasoning, news shouldn’t ever report anything in case children (presumably not adults??) see it and copy it.

My guess is that Madonna actually orchastrates all these “controversial” indcidents to get publicity. Seems she can’t fart without someone making a big deal out of it and adding it to a ‘list of controversial things she’s did’

About 20 people would have seen the shitty pictures, but now the complainers have put it in the news for more people to hear about, and laugh at.

i love animals and i love madonna. RSPCA sucks! If their concerns are the copycats who would dye their sheeps in rainbow-bright colors using unsafe dyes, they might as well ban presidency as it might induce copycats who’d claim to serve countries but use their power wrongly! RSPCA should be barking at those copycats not with the sheeps.