Mulesing — surgically removing skin folds around sheep's hindquarters — prevents flystrike but causes significant pain. Alternative approaches are being developed to eliminate this controversial practice.
Mulesing creates a genuine welfare dilemma: a painful procedure used to prevent an often more painful outcome. Flystrike is horrific — maggots literally consume living flesh over hours to days. However, mulesing without adequate analgesia causes significant acute pain and post-operative discomfort. The welfare-conscious approach requires that if mulesing is performed, effective pain relief must be used. The longer-term solution is eliminating the practice through: breeding for low-wrinkle genetics (already achieving commercial viability), improved monitoring programs, and targeted insecticide use. Consumer pressure from fashion brands demanding non-mulesed wool is driving significant industry movement toward elimination.