Flystrike is a painful and potentially fatal condition in sheep caused by blowfly larvae feeding on living tissue, requiring both preventive management and rapid treatment when detected.
Flystrike causes severe acute suffering. The larvae produce enzymes that liquefy living tissue, creating spreading wounds that can penetrate to muscle within days. Affected sheep show extreme agitation, biting at the affected area, and rapid physical deterioration. Without prompt detection and treatment, flystrike is fatal. The preventive tool of mulesing raises its own welfare concerns, as it involves removing skin without anesthesia in most cases, causing acute pain. The welfare challenge is finding alternatives that effectively prevent flystrike without causing the pain associated with traditional preventive procedures. Selective breeding for breech wrinkle reduction and targeted preventive chemical treatments are promising alternatives.