Sheep Mulesing: Welfare Concerns and Alternative Approaches

Mulesing — the surgical removal of skin folds around the breech of Merino sheep to prevent flystrike — is a painful and controversial procedure for which alternative prevention strategies are increasingly available.

Key Facts

Mulesing involves surgically removing folds of skin around the tail and breech area of Merino sheep without anaesthetic.
The procedure causes acute pain and post-operative discomfort lasting days to weeks.
It is performed to prevent blowfly strike (myiasis) in sheep with wrinkled skin around the breech area.
Merino sheep have been selectively bred for high wool production, which creates the skin folds that increase flystrike risk.
Australia produces approximately 90% of the world's fine Merino wool, making mulesing a global supply chain issue.
Alternatives to mulesing include breed selection for plain body sheep, topical insecticide treatments, and clips.
New Zealand banned mulesing in 2018, accelerating the shift to alternative flystrike prevention in that country.

Welfare Considerations

Mulesing causes genuine acute pain and represents a welfare harm that persists for days after the procedure. The welfare argument for mulesing is that it prevents flystrike — a condition that also causes extreme suffering when blowfly larvae infest and consume live tissue. However, this trade-off is not fixed — selecting sheep breeds with lower wrinkle scores, combined with better flystrike monitoring and early treatment, can prevent the condition without surgical intervention. The long-term solution is genetic — selecting away from the extreme skin wrinkling that makes Merino sheep vulnerable to flystrike while maintaining wool quality. Consumer pressure on wool supply chains has accelerated industry adoption of mulesing alternatives.

What You Can Do

Choose wool products certified as mulesing-free, such as those from ZQ Merino or Responsible Wool Standard certified farms.
Support brand commitments to phase out mulesed wool from supply chains.
Advocate for mandatory pain relief if mulesing continues to be practised during the transition to alternatives.
Support research into selective breeding for plain-bodied Merino sheep that retain fleece quality without flystrike vulnerability.