Mulesing…
A subject I feel I have to speak out about…. But first a letter I am redistributing wherever possible….
As consumers and distributors and processors of wool fibre I would like to bring to your attention an issue, which has effected me deeply as a matter of principles
Mulesing… a process currently carried out on at least 80% of Australian merino lambs. It is a so-called, blowfly control method. There is enough information, disinformation, misinformation, and extremist viewpoints on the internet and in todays media for me not to need to explain it here…
For a more balanced viewpoint see…
http://www.australianwoolgrowers.com.au and http://www.wool.com.au/
The process causes unnecessary suffering to the sheep and is used solely on an economical basis. There are other effective methods of blowfly control. Crutching is an example, which causes no suffering to the animal but must be carried out on a regular or yearly basis.
In 2004 the figure was 98% of Australian Merino lambs were mulesed. ( ref: Department of Agriculture WA and Australian Sheep Industry CRC). Different states have different levels with Queensland being the most sheep friendly with 10% of lambs not mulesed. (2005)
Yesterday (01.04.08) the Western Australia agricultural department stopped mulesing the 10,000 sheep on its research stations. (ref: Herald Sun newspaper March 10, 2008)
People keep saying that the Australian government will phase mulesing out by 2010…
This is not strictly true; the facts are…
“Producers will not have to (though they may choose to) adopt any alternatives to their current mulesing practice until the 5th lamb-marking season from now, i.e. 2011.” (ref: Australian Wool Innovation Limited)
If it can be stopped on Western Australian research sheep stations, why cannot the same initiative be instigated nationally??
My point is… this is happening and will continue to, if we do not try to convince people otherwise… as you know, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step… (Lao-tzu)
I implore you to take that step…
As wool consumers I think it is our moral responsibility to do something about this situation. If we question our suppliers about the source of their merino wool, and demand wool from “un-mulesed” sheep the situation will change due to market demand…
In a market driven economy, unfortunately, money is, it seems, the only thing that counts. Moral responsibility is a long way down the list.
PETA and other animal rights organisations played their part in getting this issue noticed on a world level… but now I think is the time to start to find lasting solutions and compromise to save our sheep from any more distress.
As an aside, I am very surprised at how few feltmakers, so far, have responded positively to this issue.
Thank you for your attention…
If you have any comments or suggestions please contact me on: roderick.welch@gmail.com