Mulesing

The Australian sheep blow fly (in fact an invasive species from South Africa) afflicts many sheep in Australia.[11] In the late 19th century merino sheep in Australia were crossbred with loose-skinned merino sheep from Vermont. This resulted in such a productive fleece that it formed wrinkles on the animal. The popularity of Merino wool in the 20th century led Australian sheep breeders to continue selecting for the thickest possible fleeces on their sheep. This lucrative trait often meant that the thick, wrinkled wool on the sheep's rear readily attracted and held dirt and feces. This collection of unsanitary material as well as the skin ulcers it sometimes caused are very attractive to gravid female blowflies. Female blow flies seek out sheep with wounds and soiled wool to lay their eggs. Once the maggots hatch they gravitate to open wounds if any are present. This is flystrike, a type of myiasis. Flystrike, also called breechstrike, often leads to systemic secondary infections and death.  

In the early-1930s an Australian rancher named John Mules was shearing an ewe when he accidentally cut off a small patch of skin near the ewe's breech (buttocks). The ewe had suffered from flystrike before and Mules carefully watched her progress in case she developed another infestation in the wound he had accidentally caused. To Mules' surprise once the wound healed it replaced tangled and dirty breech wool with smooth scar tissue. Blowflies were no longer attracted to this area on the ewe as it could not collect little dirt or feces. No relapse of flystrike occurred. Mules and others soon developed this into a technique now known as mulesing.[12]

During this operation small strips of epidermis are peeled from a sheep's buttock using steel shears on either side of the anus and underside of the tail. This was formerly performed on mature sheep but it was later found that lambs recover more quickly and completely than older animals. For lambs older than two months the period of greatest discomfort seems to last for approximately two weeks, by which time healing is almost complete. As of 2006, codes of practice ban mulesing for sheep over 12 months of age.[1]

Mulesing reduces the likelihood of flystrike by about 13 times.[13] The practice became nearly universal during the 20th century. The success of animal rights movements in agitating for the procedure's curtailment has brought the proportion of Australian sheep ranchers who practice mulesing down to around 70%. Successful international boycotts of Australian merino wool in the early 2000s set those invested in Australian sheep rearing on the hunt for alternatives.[14][15] The publicity generated intense interest in finding a replacement for mulesing that domestic and international consumers will accept.

Mulesing is a procedure which, in Australia, is carried out by a person who has completed the mandatory accreditation and training programme, usually a professional mulesing contractor.[1]

While the lamb is under restraint (typically in a marking cradle), the wrinkled skin in the animal's breech (rump area) is cut away from the perianal region down to the top of the hindlimbs. Originally, the procedure was typically performed with modified wool-trimming metal shears, but now there are similar metal shears designed specifically for mulesing. In addition, the tail is docked and the remaining stump is sometimes skinned.[16] The cuts are executed to avoid affecting underlying muscle tissue.

The New South Wales Department of Primary Industries states in the Standard Operating Procedures that, "While the operation causes some pain, no pre or post operative pain relief measures are used". Antiseptics, anaesthesia and painkillers are not required by Australian law during or after the procedure but are often applied, as the procedure is known to be painful to the animal.[1][2] Products have been approved for pain relief during the procedure, including Tri-Solfen. The minor use permit for Tri-Solfen[17] makes the product available for use by both veterinarians and sheep industry employees, such as mulesing contractors and graziers.[18]

After a heavy mules, non-wooled skin around the anus (and vulva in ewes) is pulled tight, the cut heals and results in smooth scar tissue that does not get fouled by faeces or urine. Most sheep have a light mules which does not leave the skin bare, but simply removes the skin wrinkle leaving a reduced area to grow wool and stain.[16]

When managed according to the standards, policies and procedures developed by the CSIRO, lambs are normally mulesed a few weeks after birth. The operation usually takes less than a minute. Standard practice is to do this operation simultaneously with other procedures such as ear marking, tail docking, and vaccination. Because the procedure removes skin, not any underlying flesh or structure, there is little blood loss from the cut other than a minor oozing on the edges of the cut skin.

Mulesed lambs should be released onto clean pasture. The ewes and suckling lambs should receive minimal disturbance until all wounds are completely healed (about four weeks). Observation should be carried out from a distance.[1]

Mulesing should be completed well before the flystrike season, or else chemical protection should be provided to reduce risk to the lambs and ewes.

Lambs that are slaughtered soon after weaning generally do not need mulesing because they can be protected by chemical treatment for the short time they are at risk.[19]

Mulesing is different from crutching. Crutching is the mechanical removal of wool around the tail and anus (and vulva in ewes) in breeds of sheep with woolly points where this is necessary. Mulesing is the removal of skin to provide permanent resistance to breech strike in Merino sheep. Other breeds tend to have less loose skin and wool so close to the tail, and may have less dense wool.

Crutching has to be repeated at regular intervals as the wool grows continuously. Frequent crutching of Merinos reduces the incidence of flystrike, but not as much as mulesing.

Some animal rights activists consider unanesthetised mulesing to be inhumane and unnecessary. They have also argued that mulesing may mask genetic susceptibility to flystrike allowing for genetic weaknesses to be continued.[20]

Proponents of mulesing are largely from Australia where severe and often fatal flystrike is common.

In October 2004, American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. responded to pressure from PETA to boycott Australian Merino wool due in part to the use of mulesing in Australia. The National Farmers' Federation responded by stating "Abercrombie and Fitch does not use Australian wool".[6] Then, in December 2008, one of the world's largest retailers, Liz Claiborne (in which PETA is a shareholder),[21] banned the use of Australian Merino wool in its products in opposition to the mulesing practice; at the time an Australian Wool Innovations spokesman said "the company did not purchase any Australian wool".[22] In June 2009, British department store chain John Lewis joined the wool boycott.[23] The international fashion retailer New Look also refuses to stock products made from Australian Merino wool.[24] The campaign by PETA also seeks to draw attention to Australia's live sheep-export trade. PETA's campaign has hurt the Australian wool industry with several American and European clothing retailers agreeing to the boycott.[25][26][27]

Australian interior furnishing wholesaler Instyle Contract Textiles endorses the cessation of mulesing. In early 2008, the company signed an exclusive worldwide agreement with The SRS Company to source wool from non-mulesed Merino sheep that have been bred specifically to be naturally resistant to flystrike.[28][29]

The controversy reignited after a television programme aired in Sweden. This programme alleged that a lobbying consultant, Kevin Craig, acting on behalf of the Australian Wool and Sheep Industry Taskforce offered a Swedish activist a free trip to Australia if the activist agreed not to go on camera nor do an interview. As a consequence, all clothing manufacturers and retailers in Sweden banned the purchase of wool from sheep that have been mulesed. Since then, the Swedish Agriculture Minister, Eskil Erlandsson, has said that "he was satisfied that Australia appeared to be responding to international concerns about mulesing and that bans or boycotts were not necessary". "But in the long run we hope there is going to be a final end to all sorts of mulesing."[27]

Some European retailers have agreed to lift their ban on Australian Merino wool if pain relief is used during mulesing. The retailers have not been named in an effort to avoid any backlash.[27]

In order to help comply with the 2010 deadline to phase out mulesing, Western Australia's governmental research stations ceased mulesing their sheep on 1 April 2008.[30]

Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) had pledged to phase out mulesing by 2010, but PETA accused the Australian wool industry of trying to extend this deadline.[31] On 27 July 2009, the Australian wool industry dumped its long-standing pledge to phase out mulesing by the end of 2010, a move that was harshly criticized by animal welfare groups and led to criticism by some farmers.[32] The AWI maintains that pursuing a deadline approach to eliminating mulesing was not based on "sound health and welfare science" and risked a serious deterioration in the welfare of sheep. Alternative methods of mulesing, such as using clips and intradermals, were "not sufficiently developed to support a wholesale cessation of the procedure in 2010", AWI said.[33]

The AWI's approach is "The ultimate long-term aim of the program is to reduce the reliance on mulesing."[34] and "supports all woolgrowers in their choice of best practice animal health and hygiene in flystrike control",[34] but aims to provide animal welfare improvements such as pain relief and antiseptics.[35]

In December 2020, Four Paws compiled a list of fashion brands who have taken a stance against mulesing.[36]

• Agriculture in Australia
• Docking
• Overview of discretionary invasive procedures on animals