Farmed Animals

Sheep Mulesing and Pain Management

Mulesing — removing skin folds around sheep tails to prevent flystrike — is a painful but widespread practice in the Australian wool industry that is under increasing welfare scrutiny.

Key Facts

Mulesing involves cutting away folds of skin around a lambs breech and tail without anesthetic
It is primarily practiced in Merino sheep bred for wrinkled skin that accumulates moisture
Blowfly strike can kill an unprotected sheep within days in warm wet conditions
Pain-relief options including local anesthetic and analgesics are now commercially available
New Zealand banned mulesing in 2018; Australia has faced ongoing pressure to follow

Welfare Considerations

Veterinary research confirms mulesing causes acute and persistent pain lasting at least 48 hours and potentially several weeks. The procedure is performed on lambs without pain relief in most Australian flocks, affecting millions of animals annually. While flystrike prevention is a genuine welfare concern, the availability of pain management and alternative breeding strategies means unrelieved mulesing is no longer justifiable by welfare science standards.

What You Can Do

Choose wool certified by brands committed to pain-relief mulesing or mulesing-free practices
Support the Responsible Wool Standard and ZQ certification programs
Advocate for mandatory analgesia requirements in Australian wool industry codes
Support breeding programs developing low-wrinkle Merino sheep less requiring mulesing