Animal welfare
Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (09:58): I have spoken before in this place about the great joy that comes with sharing my home with a flock of 15 sheep, all of which I hand-raised as day-old orphaned lambs of Australia’s brutal winter lambing season. Over the weekend I had them crutched, a shear that removes wool around the tail and hindquarters. It is a simple procedure that improves hygiene and prevents flystrike, but unfortunately, like in most industries that focus on profit over protection, the wool industry continues to favour convenient, quicker options that come at the expense of animal welfare. In this instance it is known as live lamb cutting. Live lamb cutting is exactly as the name suggests – it is a mutilation practice. Young lambs are restrained on their backs, unable to move, with their skin removed by sharp metal shears and without any pain relief. It is painful and it is traumatising, and what is worse is that the wool industry actually committed to ending it in 2004, over 20 years ago, and they still have not honoured their commitment. Their broken promise has caused over 140 million lambs across our country to be needlessly mutilated, as detailed in the Broken Promise report by FOUR PAWS Australia. With over 330 global brands now publicly opposed to live lamb cutting, it is clear that our treatment of sheep is an international shame, and the government must step in and make them honour their commitment by banning live lamb cutting.