Miss Australia Runs Afoul of PETA

Jesinta Campbell

Never mind that the Australian media have been taking potshots at the poor young lady--I think that what's happening here is a bit much to throw at a nineteen year-old:

Jesinta CampbellA pair of high-heeled woolly Ugg boots to be worn by Australia's representative at the Miss Universe Pageant later this month has come under fire on two fronts -- tackiness and animal cruelty.
Campbell's costume, by Sydney designer Natasha Dwyer was said to have been inspired by the outback. But Australian media described it as a "national joke" and a "travesty." The country does not have a national costume.
 PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) asked Jesinta Campbell not to wear Ugg boots or a lamb's wool shrug at the pageant in Las Vegas on August 23 because it was cruel and unethical, using Australian wool sourced from mulesed sheep.
 Mulesing, a common practice among Australian farmers, involves removing strips of wool-bearing skin from the buttocks of sheep in a bid to reduce a potentially lethal maggot infestation called flystrike.
 "Some people say that Ugg boots put the 'Ugg' in 'ugly,' but we believe that mulesing puts the 'ugly' in Uggs," said PETA's director of campaigns, Jason Baker, in a statement.
PETA says there are more humane ways to prevent flystrike, and that it has persuaded many clothing designers and retailers such as H&M and Limited Brands to stop sourcing mulesed wool.

Jesinta Campbell

 When Campbell won last month, there was no mention of the Ugg boots. I think that she should dump them, just to avoid creating any unnecessary controversy. Besides, Australia's national costume is a shirtless flannel shirt worn with no buttons, a beer can three sizes larger than the human hand, and a pair of cutoff jeans that have been set on fire by mistake. Or am I missing something here?

When was the last time you popped in to look at a pretty girl and received a dissertation on the flystrike phenomena in sheep?  (celebritydisaster)