British retail giant bans Aussie wool

A US-based animal rights group has stepped up its fight against defiant Australian farmers, recruiting British clothing giant Next Retail Ltd to join a boycott of Australian wool from mulesed sheep.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which has led the global campaign against Australian farmers who use the controversial mulesing technique on sheep, applauded Next's decision "to source wool from outside Australia or from Australian sources which guarantee that mulesing with shears or clips has ceased".
Next, with annual sales of $US5 billion ($A5.94 billion) a year, follows global retailers Hugo Boss, Adidas, Abercrombie & Fitch, Timberland, H&M, American Eagle, Liz Claiborne and Perry Ellis International in boycotting wool from Australian mulesed sheep.
Last month, Australian wool body Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) and the NSW Farmers Association announced they were walking away from a 2010 deadline to phase out mulesing.
Next believes that the continuation of mulesing beyond the 2010 deadline previously self-imposed by the Australian sheep industry is unacceptable," Next announced in a statement.
PETA and Australian wool farmers have been locked in a battle for more than five years over mulesing.
Mulesing is a technique used by farmers where skin is removed from the rear end of the sheep to prevent maggot infestation that can lead to the animal's death.
PETA claims mulesing is cruel and has lobbied for more humane methods.
Clip mulesing, an alternative method supported by AWI, was rejected by PETA and some major retailers.
"For (autumn-winter 2009) production onwards Next has put in place a preference for non-mulesed, including non-clip-mulesed wool," Next announced.
"Due to the practice of mulesing, including clip-mulesing in Australia, this preference is leading us to source wool from outside Australia or from Australian sources which guarantee that mulesing with shears or clips has ceased."