Adelaide-born musician Jona Weinhofen, the man fronting a new anti-shearing campaign, is a “spiv” who is living in a “vegan wonderland in California”, agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce said.
Weinhofen is a long-time vegan and guitarist in the band I Killed the Prom Queen. He is the face of a campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) circulating on social media in which he is holding up a bloodied lamb with the statement “here’s the rest of your wool coat” printed on the photograph.
Joyce said the animal was made of plastic.
“Shearers ... feel completely insulted by what Mr Weinhofen is suggesting,” Joyce told journalists on Monday. “[Weinhofen] turned up with a prop and said it was a sheep.”
Farmers have pushed back against the claims on social media, saying the Peta campaign was lying about the realities of shearing.
Joyce said any shearer who played up or brutalised livestock would be sacked on the spot. He accused the musician being “living in vegan splendour”, saying shearers are “sick of having their noses rubbed in it by someone resplendent in their vegan wonderland in California”.
Joyce said Weinhofen is a “spiv” who “preaches back to the country”.
He warned that Peta would not rest until woollen clothing, cotton and synthetics were all eradicated.
“So it’s going to be a pretty interesting press conference we have here as we all stand here absolutely starkers, because that’s their aspiration,” Joyce said. “To be honest, if we go back to living as content hunter and gatherers on the forest floor bare butt- naked, I don’t think that is the idea of a successful economy.”
“It’s a cloud cuckoo land world that they want to take us to,” he said.
A spokeswoman for Peta said Joyce’s statements were an attempt to distract from the issue.
“The public has been shocked and disgusted to see the treatment of Australian sheep,” she said. “Rather than trying to distract from the very real issues at hand, the minister for agriculture should be looking to address the horrific abuse of these gentle animals.”
The spokeswoman would not confirm nor deny that the animal used in the campaign was a prop.
The RSPCA also has concerns about the way in which sheep are sheared, calling the process “an acute stressor”.
“Stress experienced by sheep during shearing can be reduced by handling sheep in a low-stress manner and ensuring shearers are trained and competent in best practice technique to reduce the risk of cutting the sheep,” a spokeswoman said.
“Requiring shearers to be accredited and ensuring recognised training programs incorporate principles of animal welfare, animal handling and the importance of good stockmanship is also highly recommended. Additionally creating an environment in the shearing shed where mistreatment of sheep is not tolerated is a must,” she said.
The wool industry is Australia’s third largest export earner, bringing in about $2.8bn annually.
