Mulesing — the surgical removal of wool-bearing skin folds around the breech of Merino sheep — is a painful procedure used to prevent flystrike, and its welfare costs are driving industry transition to less invasive alternatives.
Mulesing creates a genuine welfare dilemma: the procedure itself causes significant acute pain, but the flystrike it prevents is also a severe welfare harm. The welfare calculus has historically been argued to favour mulesing in high-risk areas, but this calculus is shifting as effective alternatives — particularly genetic selection for plain-bodied sheep — become more viable. Where mulesing continues, mandatory pain relief is the minimum acceptable standard: the procedure performed with long-acting local anaesthetic and NSAIDs causes far less suffering than the unanaesthetised version. The industry trend toward mulesing-free wool certification, driven by retailer purchasing decisions, is accelerating the transition to alternative management approaches.