Touring 'sheep' stages protest

2004-11-04 12:04

Singapore - An Australian animal rights activist who dressed himself as a sheep held a rare protest in Singapore on Thursday to denounce allegedly cruel practices in Australia's wool industry.

Noah Mark, 28, and colleagues had sent media organisations a press release saying he expected to be arrested and deported by authorities in Singapore, which usually cracks down hard on any form of public protest.

But the stunt went ahead outside the Australian High Commission without any Singapore police intervention. Mark held up a sign saying "No Sheep Abuse! Boycott Australian Wool!" in front of the media.

"We just did the protest and it got the message across," Mark, who described himself as a full-time activist now touring Southeast Asian cities, said by mobile phone after the protest.

Cruel industry

"It had a great effect and is spreading the word that the Australian wool industry is horrendously cruel," added the Melbourne-based activist working with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

Mark said he would next go to Kuala Lumpur after avoiding arrest in Singapore.

In August, Singapore police questioned an American man and a HongKong woman for staging a public protest in the city-state's central business district against alleged animal abuse by fast food giant KFC.

Peta said it was the first time its mascot "Lucy" the sheep had appeared outside Australia. Lucy hounded Prime Minister John Howard as he successfully campaigned for last month's election, Peta said.

The activist group has been urging Australia to ban live sheep exports, which it said causes thousands of sheep deaths every year, and end the practice of "mulesing" - carving flesh from the animals' backsides.

Australian farmers last month defended their use of mulesing after a leading United States retailer, Abercrombie and Fitch, banned the use of Australian merino wool because of protests by animal rights groups.

National Farmers' Federation president Peter Corish acknowledged the procedure was painful but said it was vital to save animals from a painful death from fly-strike - an infestation of the flesh by maggots from blowflies.

- AFP