PETA have recently launched a campaign against shearing in Australia by utilising a emotive advertising featuring a little known vegan musician holding what appears to be a lamb butchered by a shearer.  The lamb is now largely known to actually be made from foam – the entire add is now a huge embarrassment to PETA.

The Western Australian Farmers Federation (WAFarmers) are launching a campaign against PETA for this false advertising vilifying Australian shearers, and had this to say in a recent email:

WAFARMERS FIGHTS AGAINST PETA

” WAFarmers has lodged an official complaint with the Advertising Standards Bureau against the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals’ online advertisement which grossly misrepresents the practice of shearing.

The Victorian Farmers Federation lodged a complaint this week and WAFarmers has taken similar action in support as it is vital that the industry works together against organisations that attack it.

WAFarmers urges everyone to do the same and lodge a complaint against this misleading representation of the industry.

WAFarmers President Dale Park said the agricultural industry is standing together against inaccurate campaigns.

“We are not ashamed of our industry,” Mr Park said.

“We have very high animal welfare standards and are constantly striving to improve them.”  ”

Not only are the actions of PETA entirely false, they are completely illogical.  Anyone who has ever had anything to do with shearing knows that seeds and other foreign bodies in the wood, yet alone blood, is not acceptable.  Not only does it take additional time to skirt this out of the wool it makes the shearing team look bad to the farmer, who now has injured sheep running around who need additional care to ensure they make it to market.  If you injure sheep while shearing them you stand the chance of losing your job.

Therefore, there are only two ways in which PETA could have pursued shearers in an animal welfare campaign such as this –

• They have performed zero research, or were provided false information prior to launching the campaign in which case they are just negligent in their actions.
• The information in the advertisement was known by PETA to be entirely false and the campaign was launched regardless, in which case they are malicious in their actions in discrediting shearers using false information.

Either way, we hope that PETA are bought to task on this issue and it is a message to all organisations that the circulation of false information in the pursuit of your illogical ideology will not be tolerated.

If you would like to help fund the campaign by the WAFarmers to send Jona Weinhofen, the man duped by PETA to feature in their false advertisement, to shearing school, please follow the following link –

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/send-jona-weinhofen-to-shearing-school

–  Zaine Beaton