Flystrike is a painful and potentially fatal condition caused by blowfly larvae feeding on living sheep tissue, requiring vigilant prevention and prompt treatment.
Flystrike causes some of the most severe acute suffering of any farmed animal condition. Affected sheep are often found in advanced states with extensive tissue damage and severe systemic illness before the condition is detected, particularly in extensive grazing systems with infrequent checking. Prevention through regular inspection, strategic shearing timing, topical insecticide treatment, and breeding for low-wrinkle conformation represents the best welfare approach. The ongoing debate about mulesing centers on comparing its acute welfare cost against the chronic risk of flystrike.