Blowfly strike is a life-threatening welfare emergency in sheep requiring immediate action to remove maggots, treat with insecticides, and provide pain relief to minimize suffering.
Blowfly strike causes extreme suffering. Maggots burrowing into living tissue create intense pain - the sensation has been described as comparable to burning. Affected sheep in advanced stages of strike may have large areas of raw, inflamed tissue seething with maggots. The smell attracts more flies, creating a cycle of worsening strike. Sheep found in this condition have experienced prolonged and severe suffering. That this is an entirely preventable condition makes advanced strike cases representing welfare failures, not misfortune. Response when strike is found must be immediate - every hour of delay allows further tissue destruction and more suffering.