Mulesing and Alternative Breech Treatments in Sheep

Mulesing — surgical removal of skin around a sheep's breech — is practiced in Australia to prevent flystrike but causes significant pain and is the subject of major welfare campaigning.

Key Facts

Mulesing involves cutting away strips of wool-bearing skin to create a smooth, bare breech area
Australia mulesed approximately 20-25 million merino lambs annually at peak practice
Blowfly strike (flystrike) kills thousands of sheep annually in warm climates if untreated
Pain relief is used by only a minority of farmers during mulesing despite recommendations
Alternatives including selective breeding, clips, clips adhesive and chemical treatments can replace mulesing

Welfare Considerations

Mulesing is performed without pain relief in most cases, causing acute and prolonged pain in young lambs. While it effectively prevents the serious welfare harm of flystrike, it does so by inflicting another serious welfare harm. The availability of effective alternatives — both breeding solutions that reduce wool folding in the breech area, and chemical or physical flystrike prevention methods — means that mulesing is not necessary. Major wool buyers including Patagonia, H&M and others have committed to phasing out mulesing wool, creating market incentives for change.

What You Can Do

Choose wool products certified non-mulesed by the Responsible Wool Standard or ZQUE certification
Support brands that have committed to phasing out mulesed wool from their supply chains
Advocate for mandatory pain relief for mulesing in Australia where it is still practiced
Support selective breeding programs that produce sheep resistant to flystrike without mulesing