Interviews
Big retailers raise hue & cry over mulesing
05 Apr '08
3 min read
A big hue and cry is being raised by the retailing community in Europe against the practice of mulesing sheep for wool.
Mulesing is a common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of flystrike on Merino sheep in regions where flystrike is common, though it is very cruel and painful.
However the Australian Veterinary Association recognizes that mulesing is not ideal and strongly supports development and implementation of alternatives that are less painful.
The Australian Wool industry though contends that without viable alternatives in the offing, stopping the practice of mulesing could result in nearly 3 million deaths of sheep due to flystrike.
In early November, 2004, representatives of the Australian wool industry met and voted to phase out the practice of mulesing in Australia by 31 December 2010. Incidentally mulesing has already been phased out in New Zealand.
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has reaffirmed its commitment and has said that it will research alternatives to surgical mulesing to support industry's target of phasing out surgical mulesing by the stipulated date.
Recently H&M a Swedish Retailer had suggested of purchasing wool from non-mulesing countries. To address concerns about the practice of mulesing, President of Wool Producers Australia, Don Hamblin, had also visited Sweden in February 2008 as part of a delegation to meet with leading retailers across Europe.
He was very articulate when he said that “We are taking this renewed media interest in mulesing and the comments of H&M very seriously, however, I would urge caution when relying on the claims of a group such as People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) about what this or any other retailer of wool might or might not be thinking.”
Mulesing is a common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of flystrike on Merino sheep in regions where flystrike is common, though it is very cruel and painful.
However the Australian Veterinary Association recognizes that mulesing is not ideal and strongly supports development and implementation of alternatives that are less painful.
The Australian Wool industry though contends that without viable alternatives in the offing, stopping the practice of mulesing could result in nearly 3 million deaths of sheep due to flystrike.
In early November, 2004, representatives of the Australian wool industry met and voted to phase out the practice of mulesing in Australia by 31 December 2010. Incidentally mulesing has already been phased out in New Zealand.
Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) has reaffirmed its commitment and has said that it will research alternatives to surgical mulesing to support industry's target of phasing out surgical mulesing by the stipulated date.
Recently H&M a Swedish Retailer had suggested of purchasing wool from non-mulesing countries. To address concerns about the practice of mulesing, President of Wool Producers Australia, Don Hamblin, had also visited Sweden in February 2008 as part of a delegation to meet with leading retailers across Europe.
He was very articulate when he said that “We are taking this renewed media interest in mulesing and the comments of H&M very seriously, however, I would urge caution when relying on the claims of a group such as People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) about what this or any other retailer of wool might or might not be thinking.”
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