Intensive wool production systems, particularly for fine Merino wool, involve management practices that compromise sheep welfare in ways that are beginning to receive consumer attention.
Intensive wool production welfare is shaped by the Merino breed characteristics selected for fine fibre at the expense of plain body conformation. Wrinkled skin that produces more fibre surface area also creates flystrike vulnerability -- the problem that mulesing was developed to address. The welfare paradox is that the breed characteristics selected for production create the welfare problem that mulesing is then used to manage. Long-term solutions require breed selection for plain body conformation that eliminates mulesing necessity, combined with rigorous shearing welfare standards and parasite management that does not rely on prophylactic chemical treatment. Consumer pressure on fashion brands is increasingly driving supply chain transparency that can support these changes.