Right: Some farmers are deliberately breeding sheep with hindquarters bare of wool. This process, however, is not seen as an immediate solution to the problem of flystrike.
web links and documents
Please note: the newspaper sources for this issue are largely confined to news reports. The opinion pieces necessary for VCE English Unit 3 Language Analysis have been drawn from the Internet. They come from Australian sites and were posted on or after September 1, 2008.On September 24, 2007, 'The Voice of the Australian Woolgrower', the newsletter produced by the Australian Woolgrowers' Association (AWGA), published a letter titled, 'Time for Mulesing Commonsense'. The letter was written by Martin Oppenheimer, chairman of the AWGA. The letter argues that the Australian wool industry has moved toward achieving its 2010 compact with PETA.
The full text of the letter can be found at http://www.australianwoolgrowers.com.au/news2007/news240907a.html
On October 18/10/07 radio commentator Alan Jones expressed his views on PETA's campaign against mulesing and Australian woolgrowers who use the procedure. Alan Jones is highly critical of PETA.
Jones' comments can be found at http://www.livenews.com.au/Articles/2007/10/18/Wool_producers_suffer_enough_without_PETAs_stupidity
On December 7, 2007, Animal Liberation Australia issued a media release criticising the proposed use of plastic clips to cause non-surgical mulesing. The group believe this procedure also causes unacceptable levels of distress to the lambs. The full text of the media release can be found at http://www.animal-lib.org.au/mediareleases/041207%20mulesing%20clips.doc
On December 24, 2007, The Sydney Morning Herald published a letter from Christine Townend, the founder of Animal Liberation. The letter titled, 'Progress on mulesing shows there is no excuse for cruelty', is a criticism of the current mulesing procedures and suggests alternatives are available. The full text can be found at http://www.smh.com.au/news/letters/progress-on-mulesing-shows-there-is-no-excuse-for-cruelty/2007/12/23/1198344877124.html
On March 10, 2008, the New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, said that moves to stop mulesing immediately in his state were premature. His views were put in an article titled 'Suggestion to stop mulesing too hasty: Macdonald' which was published in the Farmonline journal, 'The Land'. The full text of the article can be found at http://theland.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/livestock/sheep/suggestion-to-stop-mulesing-too-hasty-macdonald/82107.aspx
On March 28, 2008, Opinion Online, an Internet comment site, published an opinion piece titled, 'www.BoycottSweden.com'. The piece was written by Jonathan J. Ariel, an economist and financial analyst.
Ariel argues that the Swedish opposition to mulesing is misinformed and suggests a degree of economic self-interest in the Swedish boycott of Australian wool. The full text of the comment can be found at http://www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=7164&page=1
In March 2008, the animal welfare group, Animals Australia, gave an overview of the mulesing issue. Though it contained many facts the treatment is essentially critical of mulesing. The treatment can be found at http://www.animalsaustralia.org/issues/mulesing.php
On April 4, 2008, Tamworth's 'Northern Daily Leader' newspaper published a letter to the editor titled, 'So long, Ian. Go out to pasture'. The letter is written by Ingrid E Newkirk, the President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), Norfolk, Virginia, USA.
The letter is a criticism of former Liberal politician and federal Minister for Defence and former president of the National Farmers' Federation, Ian McLachlan. The letter criticises McLachlan's support of mulesing and suggests his own extensive breeding stocks may have influenced his position on developing sheep with wool-free breeches.
The full text of this letter can be found at http://tamworth.yourguide.com.au/news/opinion/opinion/so-long-ian-go-out-to-pasture/1216476.html