Mulesing

WTF Is nothing cruelty-free anymore?! The one thing I do to ESCAPE from all the evils of the world also contributes to animal suffering. This is supposedly only applicable to Australian wool, but others say NZ and other countries do it as well. Maybe I should boycott Aussie wool just for the fact that it takes a lot of resources to ship yarn from there to here.

Mulesing is the surgical mutilation, without the use of anesthetic, of merino sheep. Skin from the animal's tail area is sliced away with hand shears, leaving a bleeding, gaping wound. The purpose of mulesing is to create a large area of scar tissue devoid of wool. This keeps the rear end of the sheep cleaner and therefore reduces the likelihood of fly strike.