Results of a survey conducted by influential German filmmaker Joanna Michna have revealed consumers in the European Union (EU) do not understand the full reason for mulesing and would prefer Australian woolgrowers used pain relief on all surgeries conducted.
Ms Michna recently released the results of the survey including comments from 10 top influencers in the EU and their perceptions of Australian sheep surgeries in the face of animal rights attacks on Australian wool.
The results are in stark contrast to the continual rhetoric and greenwashing propagated by EU rights activists with many participants calling for surgery to be more humane and pain free by using pain relief.
Ms Michna originally came to Australia in 2018 with her film crew to create a documentary on Australian Merino wool.
"What I saw filming the documentary on Merino wool in Australia pushed me and my team to the limits," Ms Michna said.
"I came to Australia believing mulesing needed to be banned.
"However, after seeing the industry first-hand I had come to realise the adoption of pain management was the 'bridge' that was required until genetic selection could be used to end the need for mulesing.
"We decided to act. We wanted to help stop surgical procedures on sheep without the use of pain relief or anesthesia."
Subsequently Ms Michna began an international consumer campaign to mandate mulesing after the film went to air in the EU.
She initiated an international petition gathering over 250,000 consumers signatures, with the majority agreeing that more humane treatment of sheep during invasive procedures was essential.
According to Ms Michna, it was the single largest survey of consumer perception of flystrike prevention surgery attitudes.
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In a follow-up campaign Ms Michna interviewed 10 top consumer influencers in the EU.
Their feedback was loud and clear - even if you are against mulesing, alleviate the pain.
Candan Six-Sasmaz wrote, "I always thought Australian woolgrowers wouldn't stop mulesing for profit. It really made me angry. Now I learned that millions of sheep would die if they did not undergo mulesing, millions just in the first year. We demanded mulesed-free wool without being aware of the consequences. I think this information should be made available to us. It is important to know and understand reasons and possible methods for this operation."
And this from Alexandra Sere, lecturer, Icking, Germany," We live in a time of change. Awareness of the need to protect nature is increasing as scientific evidence of man-made climate changes becomes more apparent. Transparency of producers is crucial when supply chains span across the world. I'm sure if we could trust what we're told about animal welfare that would be the most important step for everyone in the wool business.
"No mother on earth would willingly allow surgery to be performed on her child without relieving the pain. Why shouldn't we give animals the same mercy," Ms Michna said.
"What is clear is that consumers love wool, even Merino wool gets a mention as the ideal fitness fibre, with a caveat, that any surgery must be more humane and pain free.
"This message is coming through loud and clear. I am mystified why pain relief hasn't been mandated when it seems such easy middle-ground for the wool industry to take."
She said the National Wool Declaration (NWD) is a step in the right direction for the industry, but said it means very little in the real world as it's a voluntary declaration based on honesty.
"I also believe that the state of Victoria has done the right thing in mandating pain relief for mulesing and I hope that other states will follow soon to protect the reputation of Australian wool in key overseas markets," she said.
The Australian sheep industry has a number of pain relief options readily available including the over-the-counter gel product Trisolfen and vet prescribed injectables Metacam and Buccalgisic.
A fourth product - Numnuts - has also been developed specifically for castration and tail docking.
It is estimated that about 80 per cent of the 10 to 12 million Merino sheep mulesed each year already receive pain relief.
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