Maple Leaf

That isn't true about the men not liking cats. I know plenty of men who like cats. Whilst i myself do not. I have had a few in my time. (all given to me or adopted cos they were dumped).....I do not like them cos of the cat hair that gets all over the place and i don't like cats around babies etc.

As for the cruelty of the animal. Yes it does happen. However. It is teens that are doing the cruelty. Just recently here-- 3 young girls. aged between 11-13...if i remember rightly were involved in the tortue of a animal (cat)..and just yesterday i heard of a cat being dragged behind a car.
It has nothing to do with Australian culture ..or the so called perceived *aussie macho* thing...it runs much deeper than that.
We could look at the family dynamics. Too many dysfunctional family units. Mental illness, alcoholism etc etc. Adults with these problems and illnesses are raising children. What are these children actualy learning..???? Tis all too sad.
As for it being the sign of a mental disorder..well one may think so..but...i do not think that is the only reasoning behind it.

However i think it would be acceptable to say that ALL countries have there social and cultural issues. Whilst some practises in Australia have been happening for a long time, And may appear to be part of the Australian Cultural experience...it isn't..and the old...*it's the ways it's always been done*...< shudder .doesn't compute.....
My family are from sheep people. My own father is still a sheep shearer. My heritage comes from Scotland and England. My first family here founded a country town which they built on sheep. They brought practises with them..to which obviously some are being still used today..which doesn't make them right of course if they are of ill will towards the animal
..so look deeper as to the Australian Cultural experience. We are a young Nation..made up of many different cultural backgrounds.

..there is only one way for ill practises to change..and that is US..the people....we are the voters...we are the people with the voices....One of the worst things that goes on in any country.....be it Oz...UK..USA..or anywhere..is people who WHINGE and WHINE..and do not get off their backsides....and become PRO-ACTIVE....as in making a difference.
Change doesn't happen over night...BUT it can happen...*S*

It makes NO difference if you are vegetarian....carnivore.....hippy..trendite...gay. ..homosexual....blah blah...aussie...pommy.....yank...or whatever.....we all have a voice and a consciounce........

*bows*....thankyou ladies and gentlemen. Steps off the Soap Box.

gee that feels good..now to actualy get OUT and do something..hehehheee

RUNS back....oh one more thing afore i go.....i don't know who this person is that had a BAD experience in Oz....but..you are entitled to your opinion......however......where-ever we go ..we take ourselves....>
wherever you go..there you are....WE take with it ....all of our personality and quirks...seems like you brought quite a few with you......*GET IT*.......hehehhee....byeeeeeeeeeeeee

renth

Australia takes plenty of asylum seekers, more than its fair share. It's illegal immigrants who have paid people smugglers to bring them here who get short shrift.

As for the sheep, as others have said, muelsing is better than death by maggots.

MrsDagboy

Absolutely!

Until you have seen a sheep crawling with maggots eating right down to the bone & smelt the rotting flesh, you can object to mulesing & tail docking all you want, but I know which one I think is more cruel.

jad n rich

There was a report on the live export industry last year, what this organistion is objecting about is not just the docking.

It flared up again after the UEA (I think) refused to accept diseased australian sheep which were then left to float around in horrendous temperatures for 8 weeks packed tight in one of these ships dying ankle deep in their own muck, while australia refused to take them back. Far more to it than the fly issue.

Maple Leaf

YEAH i agree aswell....also..i note the person who started this thread.....says...something about cos they are *Dutch*..they cannot help but save the world....geeeeeeez...get a grip....come live in australia..and see for yourself...exactly what aussies are all about..
I think it is great that Dutch people are into humintariasm...etc..but guess what you are not alone....*VBS*~

mr mover

Always pictured you as a lutheran not a "left footer" .......... mm

mr mover

The problem will be resolved , when people realise we are farming ,european animals, in a totally alien enviroment. Roo meat is a very healthy alternative, and all i eat. ............. mm

Quinkana

Just checking.

Jamiem

Well said. -although I get the impression you may be wasting your time on this one mate! but for what it's worth, I agree with you.

best regards,
jamie

GCS15

LOL - I had been drinking when I wrote that so I do cringe somewhat. I remember towards the end of my stint in the UK (Harrogate North Yorkshire) I was getting really dirty with the whole deal "lazy so&so's" "this is unfair" "arrogant sods" and I actually told my boss (all the managers were Scot's) that when I got back I would correct the view that the Poms were whingers that the reality is that it is the Scot's!!! He didn't like that but we had lot's of coach tours from Scotland full of people who whinged non-stop even though they were paying 10-15 pounds a night for Dinner, Breakfast, a room and entertainment.

Anyhow when I got back I relised that the problem wasn't the Scots, it wasn't the English, nor the Spanish (well maybe the sod who stole 1'000 pounds off me ) nor the Morrocans not even the Welsh (lol - a bunch of Welsh made my life hell one night then invited me to Wales and told me that I'd love it as they are so friendly). Anyhow I relised that the problem was me. I was expecting to much. Why would an British citizen want to bust their hump for 3 pounds an hour pouring pints?

Once I relised that I thought about all the great times I had, the things I saw, the great people I met who made me happy (some by getting out of my face ). I developed a philosophy whose basic premise is that when in Rome don't expect the Romans to change to suit you, the guest. And why would you want them to change.

One thing that does get up a lot of Aussies noses is when an immigrant / assylum seeker expects us to change to accomodate them. Yeah that ticks off a lot of people. I think that is why we got our back up and set up a detention centre.

Ceri

It isn't an all "aussie culture", many Australians disagree with this practice too , while some don't give a damn, and others agree with it. Same as some of the cruel practices in Europe too. Does Holland test on animals with electric shocks? do they force cosmetics into animals bellies? most countries do. It is nobody's , or one nations culture as a whole.

The recent aus public and world public up roar with the mulesing practice in Aus is more to do with the Merino sheep breed .The Mernio sheep are totally ill suited to the Australian environment.
Perhaps they'd like to breed polar bears here too while they are at it.


.................................................. .................................................. ....




Why is Mulesing performed?
Because the Merino sheep is deliberately bred to have loose skin folds. This produces a sheep which is very unsuitable for Australia. The folds become sweaty and damp in the summer and a percentage of sheep suffer flystrike. Many farmers breed for straight-bodied sheep (without the folds) but others take the cheap and cruel option of cutting the folds off.



News Story: Non-mulesed sheep wool makes sales history
Bales of wool specifically marked as being from non-mulesed sheep have been sold through an Australian sale for the first time.

.................................................. ...........................

AAQ ( animal activists Qld) plenty of "aussie" groups here for you to join if you are serious in wanting to do something about it.

http://www.animalactivism.org/?PHPSE...89843ddb916893


cheers

renth

Ceri,

How was your trip, get the passports sorted out, how was the flight?

Ceri

the last day . We picked up the passports from Brisbane in the afternoon, and flew out on an evening flight! -day of travelling, shopped in the city for pressies In the morning for the rellies, picked up passports ( Around 2pm), packed suitcases, mowed the lawn (It was eight foot high time we came back ,must have had a load of rain here the past month)... , went around all the neighbours with a bottles of wine for each of them "and please keep an eye on the house" We were totally knackered time we got on the plane.

cheers

flight
don't let me start on that lol

MrsDagboy

http://www.merinos.com.au/history.asp

http://www.wool.com.au/awi%5Chome.ns...=1000&Expand=0

Merino sheep blood lines were originally from the mediterranean area, mainly Spain.

Most merinos (which in australia are grown for their wool) are farmed in arid areas of Australia, not unlike Spain & the mediterranean. No other breed of sheep could survive in Australia where merinos thrive.

Ceri

Evolution of the Australian Merino
The Australian Merino is not a single homogenous breed but a number of ‘strains’ of sheep all of which, regardless of their origins, are uniquely Australian. The major factor determining the Merino’s development has been the requirement for environmental suitability. Very few, if any, domestic animals in this or any other country have shown such resilience or responded with such versatility and success to Australia’s enormous variations in climatic conditions, management and husbandry techniques. By skilful breeding and selection, the pioneer breeders set down the foundation of the Australian Merino.

from your link.

it just does not work here.

facts are facts, the practice is barbaric, causes pain.

There are other methods - ie not breed the sheep.
Live like a true native Aussie and eat what is here suited to your climate.

cheers