Keep up the positive publicity for wool. Bring on more internationally recognized public figures to endorse Aussie wool and don't let up on discrediting Peta. This is an excellent start.

The positive publicity strategy should have been adopted the moment PETA poked it's extremist ill-informed and deceptive head into our wool industry. The first step in McLachlan's response should have been an educational based information package in relation to the devastating effects of what it means for a sheep to be fly blown in lieu of mulesing! However he shall be long remembered for his knee jerk "See you in court," response which has wasted millions and millions of dollars for no result. Mulesing is preventitive animal husbandry. Mulesing has always been the alternative to sheep suffering immeasurable pain and subsequent death. Farmers and country people generally are fed up with hysteria based on misinformation and lies that fuels industry changes and boycotts. Some of the responsibility for this mess should also be shouldered by the press who perpetutated the issue by repeating and circulating PETA's lies without conducting some basic research.

It will be the "stars" that run the risk of being discredited if they support mulesing "Umberto." There will be increasing numbers of organisations like "Peta" as public opposition continues to grow against animal cruelty and the world becomes a more civilised place because of it.

Would the wool industry be trying to find solutions to these kinds of ethical issues if it was not for groups such as Peta pushing them?

Obviously Bernard and slamina have never had to treat a sheep for fly strike.

We need to post a few photos of flyblown station country sheep on the PETA website.

In answer to Bernard - OF COURSE!

The wool industry has been researching alternatives for years. More than 50 years.

Of course farmers would like to stop mulesing if there was a viable alternative. They aren't barbarians! They don't do this for fun!

Mulesing is the lazy farmers way of beating flystrike, compounded by greed.

The international community is becoming better and better informed about some of the Australian livestock industry's worst practices, and as slamina points out, we are better people for insisting on more compassionate treatment of animals.

There should be no question that the use of analgesia and anaesthesia be mandatory in the interim period between now and a total ban on mulesing, but of course "producers" don't want to pay for that, better monitoring of their animals or more frequent crutching.

Hopefully PETA will be further developing its campaign against the live export trade as well.

Unfortunately, in order to bring about change, the "livestock industries" will have to be dragged kicking and screaming into line with community expectations.

Nicky, where do you live? In the concrete jungle I suppose, and I bet that you have never ever set foot on a bit of country dust!!

You do not know what you are talking about, and I bet the only sheep you ever saw was in a book at preschool... As far as paying for it we do, but you lot out there refuse to - you want cheap, cheap, cheap!

Methinks maybe the Chinese, they are developing a very substantial flock of Merinos, are behind peta!!

all of you "intellectuals" are ready to knock anything in the west but do not touch Asia I wonder what the Chinese do to the sheep!!!!!!!

Nicky, your ignorance is breathtaking. I suppose that it hasn't occured to you that if every sheep in Australia is crutched twice then we will need twice as many crutchers?

Do you think that city folk such as yourself are going to come and help us crutch all of our flyblown sheep after 2010? We can't even find enough shearers now.

Are you all going to go and help inspect 50,000 sheep a day in station country, looking under every bush and behind every log? No.

The sheep out their will die long, agonising deaths and PETA and their supporters will be to blame. Shame on them.