Sheep Flystrike Prevention and the Welfare Case Against Mulesing

Blowfly strike is one of the most severe welfare problems in sheep farming. Prevention through management and alternatives to mulesing can protect sheep without causing additional suffering.

Key Facts

Blowfly strike (myiasis) affects approximately 3% of UK sheep annually, with severe cases proving fatal if untreated
Lucilia sericata is the primary blowfly species causing strike in UK sheep, laying eggs in damp, soiled wool
Strike causes maggots to feed on living skin tissue, causing extremely painful lesions that can extend rapidly
Prevention includes dagging, shearing, strategic insecticide application and dung control
Mulesing, the surgical removal of wool-bearing skin from the breech, is practised in Australia but banned in New Zealand

Welfare Considerations

Established flystrike causes intense and prolonged suffering. Maggots feeding on living tissue cause pain, tissue destruction and systemic toxaemia that can kill an unobserved sheep within days. The failure to detect and treat strike promptly is one of the most common welfare failures in sheep management. Mulesing, used to prevent strike in Merino sheep, causes acute surgical pain and prolonged wound healing pain lasting weeks. The welfare trade-off between the prevention of recurrent strike risk and the pain of mulesing has driven development of alternatives including breeding for plain-bodied sheep, targeted applied insecticides and flystrike-resistant genetics.

What You Can Do

Inspect sheep daily during peak flystrike risk periods from April to October
Apply preventive insecticide treatments at appropriate intervals based on local blowfly pressure
Maintain good dag scores through dagging and shearing to reduce strike risk
Choose wool products from Australian producers who have committed to mulesing phase-out
Support research into flystrike-resistant sheep genetics that eliminate the need for chemical prevention