Melbourne, May 26 : People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is set to launch a global attack on Australian wool farmers after a peace deal it offered was rejected.

The US-based animal rights group had proposed a three-point peace plan on May 1 to end its four-year global anti-mulesing campaign that led almost 20 international clothing retailers, including Hugo Boss, Perry Ellis, Abercrombie and Fitch, Timberland, H&M and Victoria's Secret, to ban Australian wool from mulesed sheep.

Mulesing involved cutting skin from the rear of sheep to prevent flystrike, a painful and often fatal condition caused by fly larvae feeding on the tissue.

PETA claims that the preventive measure is in itself vindictive.

According to the proposal, Oz farmers would need to immediately end the use of clip mulesing and replace it with flystrike control methods that "don't involve the removal of skin or flesh".

They would have to ensure that after 2010 they would not remove "flesh and skin" from sheep's rumps "by standard or clip mulesing or any other procedure aimed at managing flystrike".

Thirdly, farmers would immediately undertake bare-breech programs nationwide "with the goal that every wool-producing sheep in Australia will be bare-breech by the end of 2013".

However, the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), rejected the peace deal in a letter it sent to PETA's Virginia headquarters.

"We will not compromise our ongoing progress and the risk of an increased number of sheep being exposed to the pain and suffering associated with flystrike," the letter, signed by new AWI chairman Brian van Rooyen and eight board members, stated.

While rejecting the deal AWI board it will "continue to vigorously research alternatives to surgical mulesing" and maintain a commitment to phase out surgical mulesing by December 31, 2010.

However, the AWI said that it fully endorsed the use of pain relief for sheep in the interim. (ANI)