PETA has re-launched their campaign against Australian Merino Wool citing “massive suffering of sheep” and mistreatment during shearing and transportation. PETA has tried to work with Australian government officials for the last year, sending letters, reports, and video documentation of the cruelty involved in the Australian wool industry. After holding multiple protests on three continents and issuing a year-long warning to the Australian government, PETA has launched an international boycott of Australian wool. PETA is planning to protest at the Australian Embassy in Washington D.C.

This boycott will have its biggest impact on fashion retailers and lower-end merino wool apparel manufacturers.

Most of the merino wool used in the Bicycle, Outdoor and SnowSports industries, including Icebreaker’s and Smartwool’s products, is from New Zealand. New Zealand Merino is generally higher quality, and derived from smaller sheep farms-usually around 10,000 sheep per farm instead of hundreds of thousands per farm as in Australia.

PETA has two basic demands-to ban live export of sheep for slaughter and to ban the practice of mulesing, which involves cutting away skin from the sheep’s hind-quarters without sedation or pain-killers.

PETA wool campaign coordinator, Matt Rice told BOSS that the organization is targeting Australia because it can directly lobby the government that can protect the most sheep. “Australia by far is the worst abuser, but New Zealand practices mulesing as well, just not to the same extent,” said Rice. “Once we win this campaign in Australia, we certainly hope that New Zealand will follow suit and ban this practice.”

Seth Dennis, the U.S. brand director for Icebreaker told BOSS that he has seen the treatment of the New Zealand Merino personally “from birth to shearing.” Each sheep is allotted roughly five acres and the shearing process takes less than five minutes per year, leaving the animal un-harmed.

“About 20% of all sheep farmers do not practice mulesing,” Rice told BOSS. “The simple fact remains, Australian farmers are cutting flesh off of their animals simply because it is easier and cheaper, not because it benefits the animal.”