Blowfly strike (flystrike) is one of the most painful and preventable conditions in sheep farming. Early detection and preventive management saves animals from severe suffering.
Flystrike causes extreme suffering. Larvae feeding on living tissue create a rapidly expanding wound that is both intensely painful and rapidly fatal without intervention. An affected sheep shows progressive agitation, wool-pulling and disorientation as larval toxins enter the bloodstream. Death from toxaemia follows within days. The welfare case for prevention is overwhelming - dagging, appropriate timing of preventive treatments and regular inspection during high-risk weather cost a fraction of the treatment and loss associated with established strike. Daily inspections during warm, wet weather are the most impactful welfare intervention. Late-identified cases require urgent veterinary treatment and analgesia.