Getting the lowdown on PETA and the sheep

The Australian wool industry appears to have suffered a nervous crisis last week when Australian Wool Innovation elected a board which might be perceived to be against the 2010 industry deadline for abandonment of the practice of mulesing sheep.

Now I can sympathise with the graziers frustration at trying to keep to this timetable in the middle of the longest Australian drought in living memory.
However the RSPCA has a point when it speaks of disappointment if the push to end or severely limit this management practice does not go ahead as planned.
Many in this country were quietly thankful that the wool industry was moving away from viewing mulesing as the principal option to prevent fly strike in sheep.

One gets the sense that our farmers are revolting not just because they are faced with significant change or additional financial costs, but because the U.S. based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) successfully led the anti-mulesing charge in the media.

PETA is not always known for taking a balanced position on every issue.
In fact at times this organisation can act like an hysterical pain in the posterior.
Nevertheless, it is a powerful lobby group which has been running for thirty-eight years with a membership of around 1.8 million world-wide and, on the issue of mulesing as it is currently practiced it does have a good point.

Not only does PETA have a large membership; it has a budget that would put many other similar lobby groups to shame:

Income Statement (FYE 07/2007)

Revenue
Primary Revenue	$28,858,103
Other Revenue	$1,753,581
Total Revenue	$30,611,684
Expenses
Program Expenses	$25,417,759
Administrative Expenses	$1,312,701
Fundraising Expenses	$3,680,667
Total Functional Expenses	$30,411,127
Payments to Affiliates	$0
Excess (or Deficit) for the year	$200,557
Net Assets	$16,164,783

Its leadership wage bill appears to make only modest inroads into this budget, with individual annual salaries ranging from about US$34,000 - $79,000, and it is not afraid of commencing litigation in furtherance of its aims.

So perhaps our farmers and graziers should think again about dragging feet on this issue.
It would seem that baulking over mulesing could result in all pain and no gain for the industry during a period when it is bound to be affected to some degree by the global financial crisis.