Blowfly strike is one of the most acutely painful conditions affecting sheep, causing severe suffering that is largely preventable with appropriate management.
Flystrike causes extreme suffering. Larvae consuming living tissue create wounds that enlarge rapidly, causing pain, toxaemia, and distress. Sheep with extensive strike become weak, unable to flee predators, and may die within three to four days. The condition is also distressing to witness — affected sheep show restlessness, isolation, and progressive collapse. Prevention through regular inspection, dagging, and judicious use of preventative treatments is highly effective. Breeding for bare breech skin in Merino sheep reduces the mulesing procedure that has its own welfare controversy, addressing strike risk without creating a new welfare problem.