CHANTEL Mcalister grew up in Brisbane and was a self-confessed city girl before she moved west and ended up working as a woolclasser and woolshed photographer.
Now Chantel is on a mission to change the messages being given about the sheep and wool industry through online videos.
On Saturday Chantel uploaded her first video about crutching, and with more than 400 shares already, she said she is thrilled to see the message getting out there.
“It sprung from the PETA campaign that came out a couple of months ago now,” Chantel said.
“Everyone is saying one thing about the industry, and we’re saying ‘no, no, no, that’s not right’, but no one is really showing them.
“People believe what they see.”
So with that in mind, Chantel teed up her partner to star in her video, which shows what really goes on in the shearing shed.
“I think that’s the way that we can… not even defend ourselves, but just show people,” she said.
“If we can just show the actual truth, they might understand.”
The crutching video is just the start for Chantel, with a video showing and explaining the shearing process up next.
So far, the response from the first video has been all positive.
“I’ve had a few people write to me, and I think a lot of people confused crutching with mulesing,” she said.
“A few people have written to me and said they had no idea that crutching happened.
“A lot of people are not educated about the wool industry.”
Chantel’s next video should be up in the next few weeks. You can follow her at Chantel Renae Photography.