Why doesnt Peta come up with a solution? They have lots of money, why not spend it on research that would help the animal. No they would rather promote misinformation with their money. We all know their end motive is to stop eating meat, anyone in the farming industry who sides with them is just as bad.

Well done Don, you managed to get your publicity under the same headline and on the same page as PETA. The message is very simple; “maggots eat sheep while they are still alive”. We already know that PETA have no problem with this fact however, woolgrowers do, so what’s the AWP’s president doing on the same page ?

NEWSFLASH: the world does not NEED wool... industry saying there will not be enough unmulesed wool post 2010 will not encourage retailers to use mulesed wool - they will simply walk away and source alternative fibres from an industry that does not have so much petty internal politics. The commitment was made by industry, not AWI in 2004 and now they are reneging on it - which is a clear breach of their statutory funding agreement. There is still 18 months to go until the proposed deadline - why is AWI making this announcement now? The search for alternatives is not over so by throwing in the towel now all they are doing is giving animal rights groups fodder and aggravating our customers. Sadly, at long last it appears the final nail in the coffin has been delivered to this once great industry.

WTF? – Newsflash for you. The “Industry” is not a “Statutory Body” and is not funded by any statutory agreement. The “Industry” is made up of independent woolgrowers who pay the “Statutory” taxes to the Federal Government who then “Fund” the AWI and Woolproducers Australia both of which are “Prescribed Industry Bodies” under Federal jurisdiction. AWI and Woolproducers Australia signed the agreement with PETA, the “Industry” did not. Here’s another news flash, as a woolgrower I don’t care if the world needs wool or not, I will not sacrifice the welfare of my sheep for the sake of the market. Now what part of the last sentence don’t you understand?

This board has clear conflicts of interest with at least two members committed to the retention of mulesing with a proprietary pain relief product in which they have a financial interest. Other board members have other interests including maintaining downward pressure on wool prices; avoiding the levy on fell-mongered wool; and applying the handbrake to sheep genetics R&D. The media shy AWI board and CEO are now bunkered down probably looking for some pain relief of their own.

The world doesn't need bottled water either. Yet people fall over themselves to buy it, because it is MARKETED to them. Stop running away from PETA and start marketing our product and the husbandry methods needed to produce it. The human/sheep partnership predates history, no sheep can survive anywhere without human husbandry. We now have pain relief and that is a very powerful weapon in this fight against PETA.

WTF, 100% correct. AWI have been trying to work secretly with animal rights groups, a strategy that was always going to blow up in their face. I think it's time for Brenda and Wally to come clean on all their meetings with these animal extremists.

Qlander, not a good analogy, as there are no bloodied animals involved when you bottle water. You can only successfully market a product that does not have 'baggage'. Consumers now days want to know that what they are buying is ethically produced. They don't believe cutting lambs backsides is ethical. You can explain that sheep will die if you don't mules. They simply say - stop mulesing or stop growing wool. The issue is not about what you think is right for the sheep. It is what the average customer thinks when they are confronted by animal extremists at the front of the shop, with pictures of bleeding lambs.

Dr Bob, a newsflash for you as well. AWGA, who now control the AWI Board, were the first group to sign an agreement with PETA. Remember Chick Olsson and his appeasement agreement? Complain all you like and make all the glib statements about protecting your sheep. Consumers don't care. They will simply walk away from wool. AWI either starts listening to its customers or the Australian wool industry slowly fades into oblivion.

Wool growers were never consulted over the mulesing issue. Just told what the powers that be had decided. We never voted to phase out mulesing. Surely the first questions should have been directed towards the core of the wool industry, the growers, as to what action we wanted to take. I'm sure that we would have agreed to find an alternative, on the condition that it was as effective as mulesing in preventing flystrike. When we did vote, it was to chuck out those that many of us felt betrayed by. The only lying & reneging being done is by PETA in continuing to lobby retailers & manufacturers when they agreed not to do so while an alternative was being researched. Have a look at their website & see the way they mislead the public "chunks of skin & flesh being sliced off" with "garden shears". I've seen a promotional poster they've used with a picture of a huge radical mules - who does that these days? These people stop at nothing for publicity. Hey, they might have some bare bum genetics we could make use of! And WTF? do you know where the unwanted wool is dumped because we sold every bit of our clip, dags & all, & I could do with some to patch a few holes in my road.

It's amazing, no one complains when we circumcise boy babies for supposed health reasons!