Mulesing - a surgical procedure to prevent fly strike in Merino sheep in Australia - is one of the most contested farm animal welfare practices, with industry and welfare groups debating alternatives.
Mulesing is a stark example of a welfare trade-off where a painful procedure is performed to prevent a potentially more painful and fatal condition (fly strike). The welfare debate is genuine: fly strike in susceptible sheep is a severe welfare crisis that kills animals slowly and painfully. However, the approach of performing painful surgery without pain relief on newborn lambs, when alternatives exist, is increasingly difficult to defend. The breeding alternative - selecting for plain-bodied sheep with fewer skin folds - is the most sustainable long-term solution because it removes the susceptibility rather than treating the symptom. Pain relief during mulesing is the minimum welfare improvement that can be implemented immediately.