Showing Potential Tourists Bloody Carnage Is Newest Campaign Tool
For Immediate Release:
April 6, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Sydney — Tourists are the new target in PETA's campaign to end the barbaric practice of mulesing: This week, PETA will debut a new TV spot condemning the mutilation of tens of millions of gentle lambs in Australia every year. The spot will be a key tool in the group's campaign strategy to tell vacationers about the cruelty inherent in wool industry. In the ad, Australia's national anthem plays over video footage of farmers as they restrain lambs and cut large chunks of skin and flesh from the animals' backsides with instruments resembling gardening shears. The lambs writhe in pain as blood spurts from their wounds. The spot ends with the words "There's Nothing Like Australia's Cruelty to Sheep," a spoof of Tourism Australia's slogan. PETA's ad will launch while the Australian Tourism Exchange—an event that brings together Australian tourism businesses and international industry representatives—is in full swing in Sydney.
PETA will run the spot on tourism websites and post it on YouTube.
"We're asking travelers to help send the message to the Australian government that there is no excuse for allowing mulesing mutilations to continue," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "By refusing to crack down on the wool industry, Australian leaders have the blood of tens of millions of lambs on their hands."
Experts estimate that with an aggressive breeding program, the industry could transition to sheep who are less susceptible to flystrike in approximately two years. Farmers in New Zealand—and some in Australia—have already abandoned mulesing. PETA has persuaded dozens of clothing designers, manufacturers, and retailers to move away from mulesed wool.
For more information, please visit PETA's blog.