Mulesing protesters target Paris fashion bash

Tag : animals skin


Outside a major wool awards ceremony in one of the most fashionablecities in the world, angry animal rights protesters waved postersof lambs with bloodied backsides to get a point across to the wooland fashion industries.

Animal rights group PETA (the People for the Ethical Treatment ofAnimals) attempted to upstage the major wool industry promotionnight in Paris as the peak industry group, Australian WoolInnovation (AWI), launched a new fashion industry award to promoteits Woolmark brand.

However the fashionistas that were at the event seemed uninterestedin the small but vocal protest.

"This is Australia's shame," one protester said. "We want people inthe fashion industry to understand the cruelty involved with theAustralian wool industry."

International designers were in the French capital to helpcelebrate the new $400,000 Woolmark prize, which recognises anemerging designer using merino wool.

But where wool travels, so does the radical animals rights groupPETA.

It is continuing to campaign against the practice of mulesingsheep, where skin is stripped from the backside of a lamb to reduceany chance of death by blowfly strike.

Fashion editor of Vogue China Gabriele Hackworthy says mulesing isnot on their radar.

"I understand it's very controversial at the moment, but I don't'know that much about it," she said.

"I think fur is more of a focus for protesters and the fashionindustry. Mulesing - I haven't noticed any protesters at shows orany fashion events."

Pascal Senkoff from the wool industry group AWI says the issue ofmulesing has not infiltrated the European fashion world.

"To be honest I don't want to disregard that but in Paris, in thefashion world it doesn't have a big impact," he said.

"I've been in that business for the past 10 years now, and ofcourse most people in Paris do not know what PETA is or whatmulesing is."

But vice-president of PETA Bruce Friedrich says that will not stopits protests.

He says the wool industry should be doing much more before its 2010deadline to stop mulesing.

"They could eliminate mulesing now, if they simply were cleaner -if they had better animal husbandry," he said.

"I know taking the equivalent of garden shears and slicing the rearends off of living animals, they feel that pain in exactly the sameway you would feel that pain or I would feel that pain and it's notacceptable." Mulesing alternatives

PETA says it is also fighting the wool industry's goldenalternative to mulesing - a biodegradable clip that mimics themulesing process but does not create an open wound.

It is part of AWI's $10 million investment of wool growers' moneyto find an alterative to mulesing.

But Mr Friedrich says it has not passed the welfare test.

"Right now the AWI is putting most of its money into the clips,which is still mulesing," he said.

"It is still animal mutilation and according to veterinarians andanimal scientists, it's extremely cruel and extremely painful tothe animals.

"The clips are just another form of mulesing."

Back home in Australia, AWI's chairman Brian van Rooyen says thatis just not true.

"That is absolute rubbish," he said. "They haven't seen or done anyscientific research in this area.

"We have got the science here and we will be releasing this data inthe next couple of weeks.

"I've actually seen someone put a clip on the skin on their arm,and there's none of that sort of pain that PETA are talking about.

"Quite frankly it's really disappointing when there is a innovativenew technique with minimal pain associated with it, to try andimprove the animal welfare of sheep and resist the blowfly strikesituation."