Mulesing is a surgical procedure removing skin from around merino sheep tails to prevent flystrike. The practice causes significant pain and is increasingly opposed internationally, with welfare-positive alternatives available.
Mulesing causes measurable acute suffering through tissue removal without anaesthesia in the traditional procedure. Wound healing takes 4-6 weeks during which lambs show pain behaviours, reduced activity, and altered posture. The welfare rationale for mulesing rests on preventing flystrike, which causes equally severe suffering. This creates a genuine welfare dilemma: a painful procedure to prevent a potentially worse outcome. However, alternatives including pain relief during mulesing, crutching, targeted insecticide application, and genetic selection for bare-breech animals can achieve flystrike prevention with lower welfare costs. Industry progress toward these alternatives has been driven partly by market pressure from major wool buyers implementing sourcing standards.