Mulesing — surgically removing skin folds around sheep's hindquarters — is a painful procedure used to prevent blowfly strike. Humane alternatives are increasingly available and adopted by progressive producers.
Mulesing without pain relief causes measurable acute pain — lambs show pain responses including posture changes, reduced activity, and elevated cortisol for days following the procedure. The welfare justification for mulesing is flystrike prevention: untreated blowfly strike is an extremely severe welfare problem causing prolonged pain and death. This creates a genuine welfare trade-off requiring honest assessment. Pain-relieved mulesing using bupivacaine and meloxicam dramatically reduces the welfare impact of the procedure while maintaining its protective function. Long-term solutions include selective breeding programmes for plain-bodied Merinos with less skin wrinkle — an effective prevention strategy that eliminates the need for mulesing entirely over generations. Wool producers committed to progressive welfare improvement are adopting breech modification clips, strategic shearing, and breeding selection to transition away from mulesing. Consumer and retailer pressure for non-mulesed wool is a significant driver of industry change.