There is NO compromise with animal rights extremists.

They are nothing more than vegan fascists and need to be opposed, regardless of the cost.

Every inch you give them just motivates them even more.

AWI must now report to that stupid (but smarter than most of the top people at AWI) woman who runs the [PETA] show.

The wool trade should have ignored them from the word go instead they got into a battle they could not win costing $6-8 million - money that could have been spent promoting wool and educating todays young people about the advantages of wearing the great fibre.

That is exactly what AWI did, they committed to a 2010 deadline with no idea of a solution.

Since then they have panicked and offered us clips and intradermals - both ideas simply will not hold water.

The fact that PETA have told them they will not accept them as alternatives should be enough for them to drop the ideas let alone the dismal test results so far achieved.

However, they continue to bumble on, blindly led by Jules Dorrian, who we can only hope has been strategically pushed/removed from the project.

We have lost focus on the fact that a proper mules is a precise treatment only performed to help the animal in later life.

At this time the industry deperately requires investment in proper marketing strategies not wasting money on court cases and stupid alternatives.

In fact, although fly strike is bloody awful, the reality is so is mulesing and PETA have, like so many other groups who work to STOP animal cruelty forced, the industry to ACT.

The industry would never have researched any alternatives if it were not forced.

Regardless of personal feelings towards those involved the issue the barbarity of slicing chunks of flesh from the rear end of sheep, there are other ways around the fly strike problems.

Not all sheep farmers mules, therefore their are alternatives - it's just that many farmers don't use alternatives because mulesing is cheap.

Reality is farming is by in large a cruel business and many of the activities within the farming sector should be abolished like castration of piglets and lambs, tooth breaking, tail cutting, debeaking of chickens all without pain relief, and let's not forget chickens and pigs kept in cages for their entire lives.

Lastly live export. No one viewing footage of the atrocities endured by Aust animals - or any animals - can with all good conscience say this is okay.

If the farming community want society support then they must look at themselves and take the step to get in tune with society sentiments on animal cruelty and stop hiding behind their economic and traditional veils which effectively hide the full extent of cruelty suffered by millions of animals used in farming.

Regardless of what misinformed views people have of PETA, they have won a great victory for animals and advocacy to stop cruelty will never cease so long as we have people who put money and their greed for money ahead of compassion and respect for those voiceless creatures we share this planet with.

Sadly, economic factors have become more important to producers than ethical considerations when dealing with our fellow beings, resulting in factory farming where sentient creatures are treated as production units.

Welfare gets some attention at a macro level – only to keep economic loss at an acceptable level.

The welfare of individual animals does not count for much.

In a recent edition of Landline on ABC TV, it was interesting to see that viewers were warned at the start of a segment on animal welfare (or lack of it) in farming that certain images, including mulesing, may disturb them.

Surely, if we consumers are disturbed by such practices then we should not allow them to be continued.

I hope as many people as possible saw the way the lambs were treated with minimal care for their suffering.

As a vegan (but certainly not a fascist) I applaud groups like PETA and hope they continue to make a difference.

The whole thing was a win to PETA and a huge blow to the wool industry.

Rather than $6-8 million, as an industry we should have been spending 10 times that amount to promote our side of the case to the public and to inform some of the misguided public figures who have jumped onto - or rather it seems in most cases dragged onto - the PETA wagon ... only to jump off once the have the real facts.

If anyone thinks that mulesing is the end of the battle they better think again as it will only be the beginning of the war.

If we are directed by the same leaders who made this agreement we are destined to loose.

It is time for the whole agricultural industry to pull together and fight for our industry not just nationally but internationally.

The reality is that Australian woolgrowers are more concerned than ever to use world's best practice animal welfare.

Just look at the uptake of pain relief for mulesing; over 2 million lambs treated already.

This is a real breakthrough for all concerned until viable, painfree alternatives are found.

Remember productive & profitable sheep are healthy & content animals.

Australian woolgrowers deserve some credit for delivering on community expectations, but of course we can always do better.

The blog that suggests that mulesing is as bad as flystrike, simply demonstrates ignorance of rural matters, which puts him/her in the same camp as the Peta members.

Barbaric farming practices must come to an end if we want to start calling ourselves 'humane'.

Get out of your cave and join the modern world.

After all, they think the process is acceptable, therefore they must feel they have nothing to hide from the potential wool-wearing, sheep-eating public.

Or do they think if the public is aware of the sheep farming practices that the public may make an informed decision to avoid these products?

If the industry truly feels it has nothing to hide, then flaunt the practises PETA is against, guys.

You have nothing to lose, do you?

Or maybe you do. I recently watched a video on current farming practices. As a member of the public I was sick to the stomach.

I now make informed choices to not buy animal products, especially when there are superior synthetic/vegetable products.

PS. I was not an animal activist and also ate meat and wore wool and alpaca products before I saw the video.

Let's face it. You should be more afraid of 'Jo Public' than animal activists. We are the ones whose economic decisions not to take part in your industry are going to cause you more damage than a small number of activists.

In the current global climate change political arena, it is only a matter of time before the unsustainability of animal farming practises is exposed and quantified and released to the public.

I'm surprised Al Gore hasn't included it in his presentations.

Are you going to accuse the public of being fascists and terrorists too?

You certainly know how to get their backs up and destroy your industry even faster.

I now show the video to all my friends. It is their choice as to what life decisions they make afterwards.

But in my opinion, if you are going to take part in the animal wearing/eating industry, you should not be shielded from its practices. You should be allowed to make an informed decision.

You are right when you say there is no compromise with animal rights campaigners. Neither should there be. They are fighting for the rights of creatures that have no rights and no voice to say no to often horrid lives and horrid deaths.

They should not compromise.

But neither should you. If you truly believe in the system you support, again, I challenge you to promote it publicly to the public on prime time tv hiding none of the barbarity.

After all, you've got nothing to hide and therefore nothing to lose by doing so, right?

PS. I'm not an animal activist. I'm not a vegan. I'm not a fascist. I'm not a terrorist.

I'm a member of the public who you may have just spurred to take a more active part on the side of animals than I have previously.