Sheep Welfare in Wool Production and Mulesing Practices

Wool production involves welfare challenges from shearing handling stress to the controversial practice of mulesing, which causes lasting pain to prevent flystrike in Merino sheep.

Key Facts

Mulesing involves cutting large flaps of skin from around the breech of Merino lambs without anaesthesia to create bare scar tissue resistant to flystrike
Australia produces approximately 90 percent of world Merino wool and mulesing is performed on approximately 70 percent of Australian Merino lambs
Major fashion brands including H and M and Zara have committed to sourcing only non-mulesed wool, creating market pressure for change
Pain relief for mulesing is available and effective but adoption remains low due to cost and perceived additional handling requirements
Alternative approaches including selective breeding for bare-breech sheep and targeted preventive flystrike treatment can replace mulesing over time

Welfare Considerations

Mulesing causes severe acute pain during the procedure and chronic pain during wound healing over the following weeks. Lambs show reduced activity, altered posture, and increased pain responses for up to two weeks after mulesing without pain relief. The practice is defended on welfare grounds as preventing flystrike, which also causes severe suffering, but this justification becomes weaker as alternatives develop. Pain relief during mulesing, while not eliminating the welfare harm, substantially reduces suffering and is supported by the Australian Veterinary Association. Consumer and retailer pressure has driven significant progress toward mulesing-free wool production, demonstrating the power of supply chain welfare standards.

What You Can Do

Look for wool products certified as non-mulesed or sourced from farms using pain relief for mulesing
Ask wool and clothing brands about their mulesing policy and timeline for transition to non-mulesed sources
Support retailers that have committed to sourcing only non-mulesed wool with verified supply chain standards
Advocate for mandatory pain relief as a minimum standard for all mulesing that continues during a transition period
Choose plant-based or synthetic alternatives to wool if mulesing-free certification is not available for products you want