One sheep alone can make 2-30 pounds of wool. For the entire world, thats 2,044,270 tons of wool. (1)Lots of wool right? Now, imagine what will happen if we did not hold sheep captive. We would can expect a huge decline in wool, along with clothes. Which will lead to the poor, having no clothes, and increased prices of clothes. Basically, protesting to hold sheep captive means you will have to roam the public naked.
Shearing is generally carried out in the spring, so sheep don't become overheated in the summer.
A long fleece is likely to become dirty and drag along the ground, increasing the possibility of flystrike.
A bulky fleece decreases the mobility of sheep.
In HOT weather, sheep with too much wool are extremely susceptible to heat stress!!
Shearing keeps stained wool and mud-contaminated wool separate from new fleece growth.