Mulesing — removing skin folds from Merino sheep without anesthesia — is one of the most criticized practices in wool production. Alternatives are increasingly viable.
Mulesing presents a welfare tradeoff: the acute pain of the procedure versus the risk of the severe suffering caused by flystrike, which can kill sheep within days. For decades this tradeoff was used to justify routine mulesing, but the development of effective alternatives has progressively eroded this justification. Selective breeding programs producing plain-bodied sheep without the skin folds that trap moisture and attract blowflies are the long-term solution. Topical insecticide applications, strategic shearing timing, and improved flock monitoring can manage flystrike risk without mulesing in many contexts. The welfare imperative is now clear: where effective alternatives exist, mulesing should not be performed. Many producers have demonstrated viability of unmulesed production. Consumer and brand pressure is accelerating adoption.