Italian wool processor Laurence Modiano
FASHION brands will turn away from Australian wool if pain relief for surgical mulesing is not made mandatory, a major wool processor has predicted.
Director of Italian processor G. Modiano Limited, Laurence Modiano, said there is no point in setting a deadline for the cessation of mulesing.
“It has been totally counter-productive in the past, but growers have to be aware that demand for non-mulesed wool is rising and, if it cannot be satisfied, brands will turn away from wool.”
“I think we need to move to a regulated adoption of pre and post-analgesia which is subject to declaration, certification and audit.”
Mr Modiano said the general industry reaction to his call for mandatory pain relief is that if growers care about their livestock, they should avoid unnecessary pain to their animals.
“Those growers who use pain relief say it has made economic sense to them as well, due to higher growth rates in lambs.
“The Minister for Agriculture (Barnaby Joyce) has said it is not up to him, but down to state and territorial governments to adopt and enforce.”
Mr Modiano said Australia’s veterinary and farming bodies can demand legislative changes in co-ordination with state and territorial governments.
“Australian Wool Innovation’s role is to inform the growers of the pressure for change coming from consumers.
“The RSPCA has written to me to say that they are fully in support of analgesia.”
Demands for full traceability are increasing
Mr Modiano said every time a new video depicting extreme cruelty to sheep goes viral on the internet, wool is associated with pain and cruelty, to the disgust of end users.
“Brands are now tightening up and increasingly demanding full traceability.
“The full-scale adoption of pain relief during essential animal husbandry immediately portrays a nation that cares about its animals,” he said.
“The clamour for non-mulesed wool won’t go away, but the image of Australian wool will change for the better.
“There is definitely a limit to non-mulesed superfine wool in the world, in particular 18.5 micron and finer,” Mr Modiano said.
“But the real problem is Merino’s association with perceived animal cruelty.
“This is severely limiting its attractiveness to global brands.”
National Wool Declaration should be made compulsory
Mr Modiano also said all growers who sell wool should be legally obliged to fill in the National Wool Declaration.
“At the moment only 52percent of clips sold this season have used the NWD.
“Of these 8pc has been declared non-mulesed, 3pc ceased mulesed and 21pc where pain relief has been applied,” he said.
Mr Modiano said 48pc of Australia’s clip has not been declared at all, of which a large proportion is crossbred wool, where the sheep do not require mulesing at all.
“If growers were to declare this wool, they would very likely be receiving premiums for it, as exporters will naturally give preference.”
European demand for non-mulesed wool is increasing
Mr Modiano said European demand through his company for wool from non-mulesed Merino sheep had increased by 50pc in the last six months.
“Much of it is destined for the USA, home of many of the world’s largest brands.
“We are now receiving daily enquiries for such wool.”
Mr Modiano said the internet is shining a bright spotlight on all supply chains and it is for us to provide full traceability and accountability.
“They don’t care about blowflies.
“They just see a mulesed lamb wriggling in pain and blood and immediately associate it with wool, a fibre that has long been identified with luxury and glamour.”
Mr Modiano said “the days when mulesing was an acceptable practice are numbered”.
“But this isn’t just about mulesing; it is about perceived cruelty to animals.
“So I urge you to do what is right and demand from your government at state and national level to make pain relief a legal obligation.”
As someone who has ceased mulesing now for eight years I agree with your frustration Mick. Although I believe our wool has seen some price premium on the finer end at times.
The problem is, as outlined in a previous article about Mr Ed Story’s views on his dislike for EID and managing collective industry risk, the industry is too focussed on short term costs and not seeing the bigger value creation of moving towards what consumers want. I hate to tell you all this, but the answer to the mulesing issue is genetics through EID. Breech scoring on bareness and wrinkle on five different levels for each is the only way to get there quickly.
I know mulesing is fantastic from a management perspective, but once you rip that skin off you can’t score the animal. But like a lot of passionate producers who gave up on wool; our industry, structures and perception of our consumer belongs back in the 50s.
The instinct is to tell Modianno to shut up, but deep down we all know he is right. I hope the likes of our industry leaders, like Mr Storey, as a NSW Wool Producers representative, could show some internal fortitude and at least push for the pain relief option. But I doubt it, because it would be an expense farmers like to whinge about.
Full names required in future for reader comments please Michael, as per our long-standing comments policy: https://www.sheepcentral.com/about-us/sheep-central-comment-policy/ Editor
All wool growers should just provide National Wool Declarations, then the buyers could stop whinging. Buyers idea of a premium is one minimum bid over the second last bid. It has always been thus with other requests for specific requirements; such as from a Dutch buyer who wanted nice lines of broken, about twenty years ago. woolman.biz Melbourne.
So when are we who have stopped mulesing going to get some monetary gain? All we hear is a lot of talk.
Kind regards
Mick Doak (Brenelle Grazing- Ultra Fine Merinos)