Animal welfare practices and advancements
The decision to phase out mulesing
The Australian wool industry recognises the importance of developing alternatives to mulesing and has been working on solutions for some time.
Indeed, the Australian wool and sheep industries, with the support of the Australian Government, united to form the Australian Wool and Sheep Industry Taskforce in 2004 and expressed their commitment at a meeting in November 2004 to the phasing out of the current practice of mulesing by 2010.
The industry instructed Australian Wool Innovation (AWI), the industry’s research and development company, to fast-track a number of research and development programs to enable, firstly, an end to mulesing and secondly, interim measures to ensure animal welfare continues to be an absolute priority.
Progress in finding alternatives to mulesing
AWI is currently developing a number of alternatives to mulesing that are extremely promising:
- Clips: Specialised clips that attach to skin folds in the breech area of the sheep restrict blood flow to the area, resulting in the skin fold eventually falling off, tightening the skin around the breech without an open wound.
- Intradermal injection: A needleless intradermal injection is being developed, by a commercial R&D company and with potential further support from AWI, which tightens the skin in the targeted area causing the skin around the breech to shrink, removing skin folds.
- Breeding: Our genetics research program is helping in the breeding of sheep with an enlarged, naturally bare and wrinkle-free area around the breech. There are also a growing number of sheep farmers in Australia who have made excellent progress in this area.
By 2010, each woolgrower will decide their own integrated flystrike management strategy using a wide range of tools provided by a range of businesses.
AWI supports the use of a post-mulesing spray for the relief of pain. This pain relief product was developed by a private company and is being sold through veterinarians. The product is being applied to sheep by a growing number of woolgrowers and contractors across Australia.
For further information visit the Alternatives to mulesing page.
Mulesing: current status
Mulesing is the most practical, effective and humane method of flystrike prevention currently available to Australian farmers. It eliminates almost all breech flystrike in sheep caused by the unique and very aggressive blowfly (Lucilia cuprina) that has been introduced inadvertently into Australia.
Without mulesing, blowfly eggs are laid in moist wool around the breech area; the flesh eating maggots create painful wounds, causing the sheep considerable pain, stress and suffering and, in many cases, death. Although mulesing is unpleasant, a ban on mulesing would kill up to three million sheep in years when conditions are conducive to flystrike.
It would be exceptionally cruel not to mules sheep in Australia without an alternative being available.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Australia), the Australian Veterinary Association and the Australian Commonwealth Government accept the practice of mulesing as a necessary sheep husbandry procedure to prevent flystrike.
Documented studies have shown that mulesing does not cause long-term distress to the animals and infection is a rare occurrence after the procedure. The preventative procedure provides lifelong protection against maggot infestation and the longer-term suffering caused by flystrike.
A natural environment to raise healthy and contented animals
The Australian wool industry has a positive reputation around the world for its animal husbandry practices with the industry's success being based upon producing healthy and contented animals.
In Australia, Merino wool production is primarily conducted in extensive grassland grazing systems – a natural, free ranging environment. Sheep graze over 85 million hectares in Australia, equivalent to around 11% of the total Australian land mass, at around two acres per sheep. Sheep generally have a very natural and good life grazing outdoors all the year around.
Be assured that Australian farmers wouldn't be in the business of farming if they didn't like and care for animals. A key priority for them is raising healthy and contented animals.
Further information about the animal welfare credentials of the Australian wool industry is available on www.woolisbest.com.