STRUGGLING graziers have been kicked in the guts by foreign animal rights activists trying to shut down one of our iconic national industries.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has persuaded two more major European retailers, AB Lindex and RNB Retail and Brands, to boycott Australian wool from mulesed sheep because it claims there are more humane methods to protect sheep from flystrike.
The ban comes one week after Australian Wool Innovation spent thousands of dollars on a special collection at Australian Fashion Week, featuring everything from dresses to leggings. Angry farmers have urged the retailers to get all the facts instead of relying on misinformation from PETA. Wool growers have agreed to phase out mulesing by 2010 and are already using alternatives, including widespread use of local anaesthetic.
But the animal rights group ignored the pledge and has succeeded in having Australian wool banned from hundreds of stores across the US and Europe.
Sheep farmers told The Daily Telegraph they wanted the Federal Government to intervene to
save the $2 billion industry. Wagga Wagga wool grower Alan Brown said he was disappointed to hear about the latest boycotts.
Mr Brown said, along with anaesthetic, plastic clips had also been designed to remove skin in a bloodless manner.
He said the industry was also looking at injections, which remove the wool growing on the skin. "We are trying to breed sheep that don't require mulesing but that takes time, we are certainly not sitting on our hands," he said.
Norm Blackman, a veterinarian and the manager of the Australian industry's Wool and Sheep Industry Taskforce, said the reality was totally opposite to what PETA was claiming. AB Lindex has 346 stores in northern Europe while RNB Retail and Brands has 450 stores in 12 countries. The companies have joined more than 10 other fashion giants, including Hugo Boss, Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M, Victoria's Secret and Liz Claiborne, in placing pressure on farmers to end mulesing.
In the past four years, singer
Chrissie Hynde has spoken in support of PETA while former Baywatch babe
Pamela Anderson - credited for turning Australian ugg boots into a fashion statement - has denounced the footwear.
Celebrity A-listers
Toni Collette and
Pink did backflips on boycotts of Aussie wool when they heard the facts. Last week PETA offered Australian farmers a peace deal to ends its four-year campaign but claims it is yet to hear back from growers.
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,23652361-421,00.html