SCRUTINY from overseas wool industries on Australia’s slow approach to phasing out mulesing is gaining momentum, however, a first generation producer believes there is a wider problem driving the shaky future of Australian wool in the global market.
Concerned the Australian wool industry will not reach the promised progress on ceasing mulesing, a procedure of removing skin surrounding a sheep’s tail to prevent flystrike , Richard Keniry, “Kildara”, Eurimbla near Cumnock, believes the industry at large is ignoring the consumer demand for non-mulesed wool.
He is also therefore concerned the lure of Australian wool compared to other overseas producers, such as South Africa, may begin to wane.
Mr Keniry runs 8000 sheep on about 2500 hectares, including 5500 Merino ewes, with his father John. The family operation began in 1998 and ceased mulesing in 2007, after the wool industry made a commitment to phasing out the practice by 2010.
“We stopped in response to the wool industry commitment to non-mulesed sheep, we did this thinking we would be on the track to where the industry was heading; then the industry changed its mind, but we didn’t,” Richard Keniry said.
Mr Keniry said when extreme activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) headed a campaign against the mulesing practice in 2007, it marked the beginning of outside industry forces pushing for change.
“Major wool producers, like South Africa and China, do not mules; for Australian wool to remain competitive in the global market, we need to make the change – and now,” he said.
Without doubt, Mr Keniry said the big driver changing the Australian wool industry is processing mills, which are under continual pressure from consumers to use non-mulesed wool.
“... mills are saying we can’t sell our product to the end consumer because they don’t want it; so they are pushing back onto the producer saying we only want to buy non-mulesed wool,” he said.
“This is the first time the consumer has said I am not going to buy this woolen jumper unless it comes from non-mulesed sheep – so it seems there are two issues at play; both the animal welfare issue and the end consumer who is demanding a change.
“Unfortunately, in my short experience in farming, the farmer doesn’t really look at what the end consumer is about, which is where I think where the industry is missing the mark.”
New approach to traditional industry
BEGINNING a challenging wool growing approach 10 years ago, a first generation farmer owes his natural affinity to producing non-mulesed wool to not being bound up in generations of farming history.
In 2007, Richard Keniry and his father, John, gave away mulesing their superfine to medium wool flock without much hesitation.
In explaining how his first generation approach has had more advantages than disadvantages, Richard said the family operation entered the industry with a contemporary approach to traditional practices.
“Being a first generation producer, it has allowed our business to operate according to the way they should operate in today’s industry, not how they were suppose to over many generations,” Mr Keniry said.
He said making the shift towards non-mulesed wool is an opportunity for producers to enhance the Australian “clean green image”.
“The aspect that South Africa and China don’t have that Australia does, is the way we produce wool, which is the best in the world. If Australia was to take on the non-mulesed approach, our wool would be in high demand, but it comes down to what the consumer wants,” Mr Keniry said.
“Once the market says this is the way we should go, then sooner or later it will happen. We will continue not to mules, but you can’t just flick a switch and have non-mulesed sheep, it’s a long term project,” he said, referring to their breeding and management programs.
