It is sad but true that mulesing is practiced by almost all Australia sheep ranchers. Everyone who wants to protest this practice can do so by boycotting Benetton, a major clothing manufacturer that has refused to stop buying prodcuts produced with this cruelty. They can support Abercrombie & Fitch and J. Crew--two retailers who will not buy Australian merino wool--by buying their clothing instead.
PETA has done something I think is really intelligent. It is buying the stock of clothing manufacturers so it can make presentations at shareholders' meetings:
PETA BECOMES PART OWNER IN THREE MAJOR FASHION RETAILERS IN PLAN TO WIN ANIMAL WELFARE REFORMS
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Group to File Shareholder Resolution Compelling Review of Sales From Products Made With Wool of Abused Australian Sheep
For Immediate Release:
April 14, 2005
Contact:
Matt Rice 757-622-7382
New York — PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization, has just become part owner of three well-known fashion retailers—Liz Claiborne, Ann Taylor, and H&M—accounting for a combined total of more than 2,100 stores and outlets. PETA has purchased shares of the companies’ common stock, enabling the group to attend shareholder meetings and submit shareholder resolutions to urge them to introduce policies that address animal welfare standards related to Australian wool production. PETA wants the companies to boycott Australian wool in an effort to help stop two major abuses by the Australian wool industry: mutilating lambs in a procedure called "mulesing" and causing extreme suffering to sheep packed onto "death ships" bound for slaughter in the Middle East.
The stock purchase is part of PETA’s international campaign against Australian wool, which was launched last October. All three companies carry numerous wool clothing items but have been unresponsive to appeals to stop carrying wool from Australia.
Mulesing is a painful mutilation in which Australian farmers force live sheep onto their backs, restrain their legs between metal bars, and, without any painkillers whatsoever, slice chunks of skin and flesh from around their tail area with gardening shears, all in a crude attempt to reduce maggot infestation, even though humane control methods exist. When their wool is no longer needed, millions of sheep are shipped to the Middle East through all weather extremes, mired in their own waste aboard open-decked ships. Many sick and injured sheep are thrown overboard or ground up alive in mincing machines. When the survivors reach the Middle East, their throats are slit while they are fully conscious.
After a year of failed negotiations with the Australian government to eliminate these atrocities, PETA declared an international boycott of Australian wool and has already won the positive response of prestigious retailers such as Abercrombie & Fitch, J.Crew, and U.K.-based mega-chains New Look and George.
"By continuing to use Australian wool, Liz Claiborne, Ann Taylor, and H&M are contributing to the mutilation of lambs and the agonizing deaths of sheep," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "We’re asking all three companies to follow the lead of other retailers and add some compassion to their balance sheets."
Ann Taylor is a retailer of upscale women’s clothes and accessories, operating about 740 stores in 45 states as well as an online business, with 2004 sales of more than $1 billion. Liz Claiborne sells women’s clothing and accessories at 450 stores and outlets with 2004 sales totaling more than $4 billion. H&M, which specializes in "Euro fashions," has 945 stores in 18 countries. Total sales in 2004 were $8 billion. Last month, PETA purchased stock in Pittsburgh-based fashion retailer American Eagle, which also uses Australian wool.
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