Well, despite the occasional offhand remark I may have made about lawyers over the past few months, it turns out our legal counsel really are quite spectacular! And this victory feels particularly good, since it shows that no matter how influential or rich or well-connected the corporation or—as in this case—entire industry that we go up against, we will not be intimidated, and we will not give up our mission of ending animal abuse and torture anywhere we find it, and we will win! This week, Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), a trade group representing the Australian wool industry, abandoned the lawsuit they have been pushing for more than two years against PETA's boycott of Australian wool. AWI has pumped millions of dollars into this lawsuit, and this development is a big victory both for free speech and for animals. Here's what PETA President Ingrid Newkirk had to say:

"Our message is that when animal abusers sue PETA, it's at their own peril. AWI has wasted millions of dollars of woolgrowers' money, only to find that PETA's call for a boycott of Australian wool is going at full throttle as long as lambs have chunks of their rumps cut off with shears and sheep are herded onto export death ships."

In addition to withdrawing the lawsuit, AWI has had to agree to fast-track the development of genetic alternatives to the cruel mutilation that is one major cause of our boycott. This isn't enough in itself for us to end our demonstrations against Australian wool, but it's good news for the sheep, and it's an encouraging sign that the industry itself is starting to listen to the outrage of consumers over its cruel practices. To learn the full story and to help with our campaign, please click here. And for more on why we launched this boycott in the first place, check out the video below.