These retail giants, Hugo Boss and Perry Ellis, will begin phasing out any of their products that includes Australian lamb wool. Adidas, reputedly the second largest sporting goods manufacturer in the world, will also refuse to market any such products. The problem is rooted in mulesing, a cruel procedure in which Australian farmers carve chunks of skin and flesh from lambs' backsides. Mulesing is common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of flystrike on merino sheep in regions where flystrike is common. Flystrike is Myiasis which is an animal or human disease caused by parasitic dipterous fly larvae feeding on the host's living tissue. Other terms for Myiasis include "fly-strike" and "fly-blown".Adidas pledged that if they can't find wool that has not been mulesed from lambs, they will not use the wool at all. These policies have resulted from discussions with PETA. I reckon those Aussie farmers will just have to find a way to protect and treat their lambs better.
When a member of the animal or plant kingdom goes extinct, there will be no second chances. Evolution will simply not repeat itself. There are reportedly eighty bird species that are unique to the Philippines and many of them have already made it to the endangered list. And we, to a great extent, have indiscrimate hunting to thank for it. In spite of two national laws protecting Philippine animals, the carnage continues unabated. The killings could occur as arbitrarily as guys getting together for macho time, or as a result of a well-planned hunting trip involving speed boats, bird callers, and camouflaged outfits. Either way, the outcome is the same. Philippine wildlife, our natural treasures, inches closer to a state of irreparable vacancy. Not too long ago, we learned about the Bacolod Air Rifle Club (BARC) whose unbridled killing of Philippine birds and ducks became the subject of an online petition calling for immediate government intervention. My post on that most disturbing c...
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