Nationwide Benetton Demonstrations

by Amanda K - Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) Wed Jan 05, 2005 15:50 arancampaigns at eircom dot net Po Box, 722 Kilare, Ireland. 087-6275579

Activists Want Retailer to Stop Using Australian Wool Until Mutilation and Live Export End
Public welcome to come out and support.
For Immediate Release:
5 January 2005

Contact:
John Carmody 087-6275579

BLINDFOLDED ACTIVISTS PROTEST AGAINST BENETTON OVER AUSTRALIAN ABUSE OF SHEEP
Activists Want Retailer to Stop Using Australian Wool Until Mutilation and Live Export End

Dublin- Wearing blindfolds and carrying signs reading Benetton: Blind to Animal Suffering, members of Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) will gather outside Benetton's St Stephens Green store in Dublin to show potential customers the horrific abuse of lambs and sheep by Australia's wool industry. The action is part of an intense international campaign launched by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to convince the retail chain to ban garments made with Australian wool until a gruesome procedure called mulesing (live flaying) and live sheep exports are banned:

Date: Thursday, January 6
Time: 1:15 p.m.
Place: In front of St Stephens Green shopping center

Mulesing is a crude mutilation whereby Australian farmers carve flesh from lambs¡¯ backsides with a pair of garden shears and without painkillers as a cheap way to try to reduce flystrike ¨C which is when blowfly eggs hatch into maggots and eat away at the sheep ¨C even though more sophisticated, humane blowfly control methods exist. When their wool is no longer the best, millions of sheep are shipped to the Middle East through all weather extremes aboard open-deck, multi-tiered ships. Many sick and injured sheep, treated as mere cargo, are thrown overboard or ground up alive in mincing machines. Many of those who survive the grueling voyage are fully conscious when their throats are slit.

After repeatedly asking the Australian government to end these atrocities, PETA announced an international boycott of Australian wool in mid-October 2004 and has already won the support of prestigious retailers Abercrombie & Fitch and New Look.

The united colors of Benetton are turning to blood red, says ARAN Campaigns Coordinator John Carmody. ¡°If Benetton wants to wipe the blood of millions of sheep off its hands, it must refuse to sell clothes made from Australian wool.¡±

Activists are urging consumers to boycott Benetton until it pledges to stop using Australian wool and is planning to bombard Benetton with ads and protests around the world to alert the public to the company¡¯s support of cruelty. For more information, please visit PETA¡¯s Web site UnitedCrueltyofBenetton.com.

Similar demonstrations will be taking place this month in Wicklow, Waterford, Limerick, Cork, Galway, Sligo, Clare and Carlow.

by Laura Bingham Wed Jan 05, 2005 22:12

I should think that reputable organisations such as ARAN and PETA would get their facts straight before attacking and launching boycott campaigns against various shops, in particular the United Colors of Benetton. UCB buys the majority of their wool from Argentina where the practice of mulesing is NOT carried out. The rest is purchased from the world market and which is sourced from many different countries, and although UCB most likely cannot honestly say that none of this comes from Austrailian farms where this mulesing is practiced, there is also no proof that some of it does.
After doing some research of my own, I would also like to point out that mulesing is a practice carried out to PREVENT the death of these sheep and research is being carried out to find alternatives.
I am all for animal welfare but above all I would like to ask why these people are wasting their time protesting against an issue which they clearly know nothing about, when their time could be better spent raising money to help the hundreds of thousands of people who are dying as a result of the terrible tsunami in Asia.
Get your priorities straight.

by David Thu Jan 06, 2005 17:36

I couldn't make it to the protest, but I think that their argument is well-founded, and I support their actions. The link I have attached (which seems to be from a very reliable source) repeats their claim that Benetton does indeed import wool from Australia.
There is plenty of time to be involved in both causes - animal rights AND aiding the tsunami victims.
And what makes you think you're justified in telling people what their priorities ought to be? - that's quite patronising in my opinion, as well as interfering and highly irritating!

by . Fri Jan 07, 2005 17:29

Protest over 'cruel' Australian wool farmers

 BLINDFOLDED activists staged an eye-catching protest outside a Benetton clothes store yesterday to highlight the alleged abuse of lambs and sheep by the Australian wool industry.

Members of the Animal Rights Action Network (ARAN) were attempting to convince the retail chain not to sell garments made with Australian wool until live exports are banned and other controversial farming methods stopped.

John Carmody, who led the banner-wielding group outside Benetton on Dublin's St Stephen's Green, claimed a "gruesome" procedure called "mulesing" was being used on lambs. "Large chunks of flesh are cut from the backside of sheep to avoid maggot infestation," he added.

Mulesing is carried out to stop blowfly laying eggs in lambswool, as flesh-eating maggots can fatally wound the animals. "When their wool is no longer profitable, these sheep are live exported on filthy, crammed, overcrowded, disease-ridden, ships to the Middle-East where they will be killed for their flesh," he said.

A statement from the St Stephen's Green store stated the protest was an "unjustified and defamatory boycott campaign against Benetton Group".

A Benetton statement said: "On several occasions the company has explained it acquires mixes of wool of diverse origin from a number of specialist trading companies on the international market." The company added it had contacted Australian wool producers for information on mulesing and was assured research was being carried out to find alternatives to the practice.

Louise Hogan

by Sonia Moran Sun Jan 09, 2005 16:09

David,

I could not agree with you more. I am also a supporter of ARAN here in ireland and PETA too - obviously these good guys cannot go off and do campaigns like this if there is no proof of the abuse or cruel trade happening - otherwise people would not support them and they would not be effective.

That comment that was made about getting priorities right is all over the place. She must be heavily invested in animal cruelty somewhere along the line.

Thank you ARAN and PETA.

by Big Irish from the USA Sun Jan 09, 2005 22:24

A "reputable" organization? Totally untrue. Remember their farcical "Drink beer, not milk" campaign....

by SABWATCH Sun Jan 09, 2005 22:56

Them comparing the chicken or fur farms to the Holocaust death camps.Really managed to alienate the entire holocaust survivors and the anti defamation leauge.

by The Truth Mon Feb 28, 2005 04:55

We as humans were put on this earth to coexist as humans. However we must also look out for our own. How dare you compare the dead children caused by the tsunami to some stupid lambs. I am studying wildlife conservation in college as well as epidemics in third world countries. Do not compare the well beings of animals to my family.

by Sharila G Sun Mar 13, 2005 19:35

There is no one comparing Tsunami vitcims and lams you fool. All suffering deserves out attention and we must help humans and animals alike