NSW Parliament Fails to Protect Sheep, Allows Mulesing Mutilations to Continue

Despite overwhelming support from animal welfare advocates, celebrities, consumers, fabric buyers, and fashion houses worldwide for an end to mulesing in the wool industry, a New South Wales parliamentary committee has decided to bury its head in the sand and allow the barbaric procedure to continue.

A report on a proposed bill that would have ended mulesing in the state by 2022 has concluded that banning the procedure and making use of pain relief are “not the right way forward”.

In reality, this is the right way forward for lambs, millions of whom suffer immensely when their backsides are mutilated in a crude attempt to stop flies from laying eggs in the folds of their skin.

Mulesing Should Already Be History

When PETA US first exposed this practice to the world back in the early 2000s, the Australian wool industry promised to phase it out by 2010. New Zealand made mulesing illegal in 2018 – yet here we are, a whole decade past the deadline, and the majority of Australian sheep are still suffering because of this cruel procedure.

Farcically, industry stakeholders who took part in the inquiry claimed that introducing a ban in January 2022 would “not provide enough time” to phase it out.

Sheep Need Your Help

The Australian wool industry clearly has no ability to self-regulate on this issue, and now the NSW parliament has failed sheep, too.

Since our policymakers have failed animals, it’s up to each of us to act. Now, more than ever, we must vote with our wallets and leave wool out of our wardrobes.

Not only does the Australian wool industry mules lambs, it also cuts off their tails and castrates males without any pain relief. Shearers, who are paid per fleece, work roughly and violently, pinning petrified sheep down, punching them in the face with metal clippers, cutting them open, and shoving them down chutes. Over the past six years, PETA’s affiliates have visited 43 farms across New South Wales, South Australia, and Victoria and have found cruel treatment of animals at every single one.

With so many animal-free, environmentally friendly fabrics now available, there is simply no need to continue inflicting so much pain on sheep.

PETA will continue to call for legislative action for animals, persuade retailers and designers to switch to cruelty-free alternatives, and inform consumers about the horrors of animal abuse. We’ll also continue to stand up for the gentle lambs and sheep who currently suffer and die by the millions in the wool industry each year. We hope we can count on you to help.

Join us in asking Forever 21 to ban wool:

TAKE ACTION!