Italian fabric maker Vitale Barberis Canonico has asked the country’s trade minister to address concerns about animal welfare and a wool market that seems to be struggling. So much so, Davide Fontaneto, a raw wool buyer from Vitale Barberis Canonico has urged action on animal welfare.

Fontaneto’s call follows European wool buyer Laurence Modiano’s letter calling for compulsory pain relief for lambs at the time of mule sing. Opined Fontaneto in an interview that at the beginning of this year the Australian Ambassador had visited Biella in northern Italy and so did the Trade Minister. Then, a letter highlighting the problem in the wool market was handed over to the minister and he was also informed about animal welfare and the problem of mule sing.

Canonico, which has been making textiles in the northern region of Biella since 1663, brings out eight million metres of fabric a year with a turnover of €116 million. Australian wool producers grow the world’s finest wool, but the global financial crisis seven years ago nearly killed the industry. Along with, a growing hunger for sheep meat combined with a concerted campaign by animal activists put further pressure on the industry with the national flock now half of what it was at its peak.