Animal welfare activists are threatening to widen international boycotts of Australian wool if the industry does not recommit to end the practice of "mulesing" sheep.
This follows the takeover of the industry body, Australian Wool Innovations, by a faction critical of the 2010 deadline for phasing out mulesing, in which skin and flesh is cut away from the animals' hindquarters to prevent fly strike.
Matt Prescott, campaign director with People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said that if the deadline was scrapped then new boycotts could be initiated against retailers that refused to stop using Australian wool.
He said PETA had direct assurances from dozens of retailers that they would not use Australian wool until mulesing was abandoned.
Growers were told at AWI's annual meeting in Perth that they did not need to adhere to the mulesing phase-out.
PETA's statement follows the dramatic changes to the Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) board at the AGM in Perth on Wednesday this week.
The new board is more likely to extend the current 2010 deadline for ending mulesing if viable alternative procedures to prevent fly strike haven't been developed by then.
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