A PETITION signed by the world’s largest woollen mills is urging the Australian wool industry to lift their animal welfare standards.
Distributed by former Australian Wool Innovation board member and prominent European wool-buyer and processor Laurence Modiano, director of G Modiano Limited, the petition has reignited fears about consumer rejection of mulesing.
It has been signed by 34 mill directors, representing 70 per cent of the active global wool combing capacity, and has called the industry to make pain relief a legal requirement for all on-farm sheep surgery and compulsory declaration of growers’ mulesing status.
“If these requests are ignored and wool is increasingly associated with pain and cruelty, more and more brands will make the reluctant decision to remove it from their collections,” Mr Modiano said.
The catalyst for the petition is the state and territory governments’ endorsement last month of the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Sheep (AHA).
The AHA recommend mulesing to take place for sheep from two to 12 weeks old and for pain relief to be used for mulesing on sheep that are over six months-old.
Mr Modiano said the standards suggest pain relief was optional in young lambs, “the most vulnerable in the flock”.
“Nothing could do more damage to the image of wool than to adopt this muddle-headed proposal,” Mr Modiano said.
“With consumer awareness of mulesing at an all-time high, such a proposal would put even more consumers off wool.
“… the AHA proposals are a terrible retrograde step which, if adopted and adhered to, could contribute to the destruction of the wool industry altogether.”
Mulesing is considered a more humane animal welfare practice to prevent sheep from suffering flystrike and involves cutting the skin around a sheep's buttocks.
The petition urges a mandatory use of Australian Wool Exchange’s (AWEX) National Wool Declaration (NWD), or risk being discounted.
Signatories represent mills in China, India, Japan and Europe, including the world’s largest wool processor Tianyu Wool Industry, China.
AWEX reported 53.1per cent of the wool sold at auction is declared through the NWD - a climb from 42pc in the 2010/11 season.
Of those growers who use NWD, 21pc declare their status as using pain relief, 20pc mulesed and 9pc non-mulesed.
“Our co-signatories and we are increasingly concerned that the perception of animal cruelty is holding back the wool market in certain key regions of the world,” Mr Modiano said.
“Demand for non-mulesed wool has risen by 50per cent in the past year here in London.
“We believe that many global brands would love to use wool in their products but are terrified of being contaminated by the association with animal cruelty.”
He said buyers had reported an estimated premium of 50-100c/kg clean for well-prepared, superfine non-mulesed and ceased-mulesed wools.
Wool Producers Australia chief executive Jo Hall said market forces would drive change to on farm practices quicker than a regulatory push.
“I’m fully sympathetic that the world and customer needs and wants are changing, the wool industry has to keep up with that change, but the current pricing signals aren’t telling us that this is strictly what is being demanded,” Ms Hall said.
“If this is a carrot verse stick approach, we would rather go with a carrot and see premiums… there are some direct contracts that are receiving premiums but that is not in the general market place through the auction system.”
In a statement, Australian Wool Innovation said it had invested $47 million in a large range of health and welfare research and development activities since 2005, including $28 million specifically in breech flystrike prevention and pain relief.
“Through its various global campaigns and activities AWI promotes the versatility and sustainability of wool,” the statement said.
