Mulesing involves cutting skin from around the breech of Merino sheep to prevent flystrike. Alternatives are increasingly available and reduce both flystrike and surgery-related welfare harm.
Mulesing causes acute pain during the procedure and ongoing discomfort during healing in lambs that are not given pain relief. The operation targets a real welfare problem - blowfly strike is a horrific condition - but creates welfare harm in the process of addressing it. The ethical path forward combines pain relief as mandatory standard practice for any mulesed sheep, accelerated breeding programs selecting for smooth-breech Merinos that do not require the operation, and improved monitoring and preventive management to detect and treat flystrike early. Consumer pressure from international wool markets is accelerating this transition.