More Nonsense from PETA

This story should prove once and for all that PETA is nothing but a bunch of hypocrites.

A row has been taking place in Australia over a controversial farming practice, where flesh is sheared from sheep to protect them from maggot infestation.

Twelve months ago, most Australians had not heard of a sheep-farming procedure known as "mulesing".

But now thanks to a row between the world's largest animal rights organisation, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) and Australian wool growers, they have been brought up to speed pretty quickly.

Mulesing is named after John Mules, who developed the practice in the 1930s as a way to prevent what is known as "flystrike".

This occurs when blowflies lay eggs in the folds of skin around the sheep's back side. When this happens, the hatched maggots can eat the sheep alive.

Cutting off the loose flesh leaves an area of smooth, wool-free skin, which prevents maggot infestations.

The procedure is carried out using metal shears and no pain killers. But Ian McLachlan of Australian Wool Innovation, the industry's research group, said: "It's short-term pain for lifelong immunity and stops the sheep being eaten alive."

And what solution has PETA suggested? Well, according to the article, none. However, there's this:

The row has caused a split among woolgrowers, some of whom disapprove of the large amount of money being spent on legal action.

Chick Olsson is one of them. He formed a breakaway group, the Australian Woolgrowers Association (AWGA), which believes in working to try to find a compromise with Peta on mulesing.

In fact, since the boycott started, it has been agreed across the industry to phase out mulesing completely by 2010.

Other alternatives - such as a chemical procedure - are now being tried out. But, in the meantime, the boycott stays.

The only way it will be lifted is if a pain-free way to prevent flystrike can be found.

Recently, Chick Olsson held talks with Peta in New York. He took with him news of a pain relieving spray that could be widely used within six months.

It could mean an end to the international boycott and, with a new public awareness about animal rights, an end to a controversial sheep-farming practice.

So, let's review. The maggots these sheep farmers are trying to protect against can eat the sheep alive. There's a process whereby the sheep can be rendered immune to such an attack, but PETA can't handle that, because it causes "distress" to the animals. (If I had to guess, it's probably the same kind of distress felt by a kid who's at the doctor's office waiting to get a shot, and the pain is probably similar to any number of different harmless surgeries or procedures performed on humans.) The end result? Boycotts of Australian wool by companies like Abercrombie and Fitch, the same people who put naked models in their catalogs.

Now this guy, Chick Olsson, thinks that PETA can be negotiated with. Get real, mate! This is just the first step. There's no compromising with PETA; if you "compromise" with them once, the next time they'll want more. PETA is as much for the "ethical treatment of animals" as the ACLU is for the protection of "civil liberties". PETA will stop at nothing short of the total "liberation" of all animals that have any role whatsoever in feeding or clothing humans; maybe not the overall membership, but the core group and their lunatic followers.

If you're an Australian sheep farmer, and you're reading this, don't give in. I'd be proud to wear any item of clothing made from the wool of a sheep saved by the mulesing procedure.