Australian Wool Innovation today launched a blistering tirade at the Australian Woolgrowers Association, alleging the wool lobby group was seeking to "continually divide the industry".
AWI chairman, Brian van Rooyen, says it is "incredibly disappointing that this small group sends out flawed information to the media and in doing so gives more ammunition to the animal rights activists in their campaign to turn retailers around the world against the Australian wool industry".
"AWI makes every effort to enable AWGA to participate in important, inclusive and constructive industry endeavours - for instance AWGA was invited to and participated in the industry's strategic planning forum in May," Mr van Rooyen says.
"AWGA has been instrumental in seeking a reneging of the wool industry's commitment to phase out mulesing by 2010. This is what kick started the renewed wave of activist approaches to our international retailers.
"Now AWGA seeks to undermine clips as being a viable (surgical mulesing) alternative, instead seeking to force woolgrowers to use commercial pain relief.
"For the record, AWI has actively supported the use of pain relief by growers and the least it asks of AWGA is to support AWI, the woolgrowers' not-for-profit research company in finding alternatives.
"I have four, quite easy, questions for AWGA:
"1. Where does AWGA's interest lie in promoting a commercial pain-relief product over every other alternative to mulesing that is being developed to help woolgrowers?
"2. What does AWGA hope to gain from undermining the clips?
"3. Why is AWGA attempting to leave woolgrowers without options to meet the wool industry commitment to phase out mulesing by the end of 2010?
"4. Why is it that AWGA's objective does not meet the longer term needs of the industry's customers, the international retailers?
"AWI categorically rejects AWGA's rhetorical musings that `a change of mulesing definition' is linked to clip research and development. Nothing could be further from the truth.
"I understand that the National Wool Declaration is evolving to meet the needs of the wool industry.
"In reality, this is just another example of AWGA's campaign against AWI and its efforts to meet wool industry customer expectations on behalf of the Australian wool industry."
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