Mulesing — the removal of skin around sheep breech to prevent flystrike — is a painful procedure increasingly being replaced by effective, welfare-positive alternatives.
Mulesing presents a genuine welfare dilemma: the procedure causes acute pain, but flystrike — the alternative — causes severe and potentially fatal suffering. The answer is not to choose one harm over another but to transition to alternatives that eliminate both. Genetic selection for low-wrinkle breech conformation, combined with improved fly monitoring and targeted treatment, progressively eliminates the need for mulesing without accepting flystrike risk. Pain relief for the transition period, while alternatives are adopted, reduces harm meaningfully. Industry, retailer, and government pressure has accelerated this transition significantly in recent years.