International animal welfare organisation Four Paws has revealed that 400 leading fashion brands have publicly denounced mulesing, a distressing procedure imposed on young sheep to prevent myiasis, a disease marked by the presence of fly larvae beneath the skin.
Four Paws released the names of these brands through an open letter, urging the Australian wool industry and global wool supply chains to abandon this inhumane procedure.
According to Four Paws, the signatories of the letter are committed to not using mulesed wool. They are either already certified as mulesing-free or have plans to achieve this status by 2030. Notable brands like Adidas, Calida, and Esprit are among those that have pledged their support, expanding the initiative from its initial 100 brands to 400 in the past three years.
In a release, Rebecca Picallo Gil, head of the end mulesing campaign at Four Paws, said, “Globally, mulesing takes the lead as the largest mutilation conducted on farmed animals. FOUR PAWS will be in attendance to make the case to the industry that true progress on mulesing is down to every member of the global wool supply chain. Pain-free alternatives are available, and can save millions of lambs from this severe suffering if taken up.”
“Good breeding choices and management can simultaneously end reliance on mulesing, as well as achieve results in higher lamb and ewe survival, better pasture conversion which is also good for the environment and overall healthier sheep contributing to an economical benefit, as witnessed by many Australian wool growers.”
