Alteration procedure
Mulesing
Breech skin removal
This photograph shows Breech skin removal.
This photograph shows Breech skin removal.
What it is
Strips of skin are cut away from the breech of selected lambs. The aim is an area where urine and faeces no longer collect and attract blowflies.
Where it sits in the system
Flystrike is a serious risk in wool flocks. Mulesing is a single cut that reduces it, in place of the repeated monitoring, crutching and shearing that other approaches require.
Welfare concern
The lamb is left with an open wound and acute pain, and is exposed to bleeding and infection while it heals. Pain relief and wound management reduce the impact; they do not erase it.
Worth being precise about
Flystrike is itself a severe welfare threat, not a commercial inconvenience. Breeding, monitoring, crutching, timely shearing and targeted treatments work as alternatives or as complements.
