PETA and the Mulesing Market

The organisers of PETA's campaign against sheep mulesing should be congratulated for informing consumers about this dirty secret. The salutary lesson here for activists is that markets work: by presenting facts and arguments they can influence society and bring about change.

However, PETA should be worried about government interference. One element of its successful campaign is street theatre - an activity deemed so heinous that people have apparently been deported for it. And, as with mandating ethanol in fuel, the Coalition is prepared to undermine the marketplace to appease a very small group of farmers.

Despite the Coalition's wooly-thinking about liberty and economics, PETA understands that even national governments are powerless in the face of informed global markets.