The Land – David Leyonhjelm – 18/2/13
Back in 2004 the radical animal rights group PETA launched a campaign against the sheep industry based on its opposition to mulesing. Targeting major clothing retailers in Europe and the US, it threatened to initiate a worldwide boycott of Australian wool unless the practice was stopped.
The industry’s response was little short of blind panic. Driven by Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), it agreed to phase-out of mulesing by 2010 on the assumption that acceptable alternatives could be developed by this time. AWI also took court action against PETA, later settled when PETA agreed to cease its activities until the end of 2010.
It turned out that developing alternatives to mulesing was more difficult than anticipated. The 2010 deadline came and went with nothing available. Trials involving clips and chemicals proved disappointing. As far as I know SkinTraction is the only product still in contention, and it has many limitations. READ MORE