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Wool has been an important industry in Australia for hundreds of years. But in all that time, technology still hasn't been able to replace the job of a skilled shearer. It's tough work as you'll see but that doesn't mean kids don't want to do it.

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At the moment, there's a big push by some people to ban Australian wool. Some retailers from around the world are refusing to use it to make their clothes and some people including stars are refusing to wear it. It's all because of a thing called 'mulesing', but what's that? Catherine explains and looks at why the campaign is hurting Aussie farmers.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Ahhh, what a lovely day in paddock number 9! Oh! That's a bit nasty! That's Garry, he's a bully. That's Frank and his uncle Steve and this is Paris!

I won't introduce everyone. But did you know these guys, together with their mates from right across the country, produce enough wool to make Australia the biggest producer of wool in the world?!

Great job guys!

But now we meet a group who are not friendly to sheep.

This is the enemy, a very aggressive Australian Sheep Blowfly.

They came from South Africa in the late 1800s and love the moist, smelly wool on a sheep's backside - it's where they like to lay their eggs!

Which turn in to this - maggots!

And they're flesh eaters.

They burrow into the sheep�s skin and create painful wounds which can even be fatal.

It's called flystrike.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: But not long after this nasty green fly began causing trouble in Australia a guy called Mr Mules, in the 1930s, came up with an idea to fix the problem.

He worked out that cutting off the skin would stop wool from growing and leave a smooth flat patch where flies can't lay eggs.

Mr Mules called it 'Mulesing'.

And it's still being used today by most wool producers.

The sheep are mulesed when they're young and they're pretty much protected for life.

Farmers say they don't like doing it because it hurts the sheep, but they believe it's a short term pain for a long term gain!

But not everyone agrees.

Some people reckon mulesing is cruel and want it banned immediately.

Animal rights groups have been campaigning for years for less painful methods to be used.

They say mulesing is used because it's cheap and there are better solutions.

One is crutching the sheep more often.

CATHERINE ELLIS, REPORTER: Crutching is when you clip off the wool from around here but it has to be done more often because the wool grows back.

Some big clothing companies from overseas are also now supporting the animal activists - they're refusing to buy our wool.

All of this is hurting the Aussie wool industry which says at the moment mulesing is still the best way of protecting sheep and without it millions would die.

Australia has agreed to phase out mulesing by 2010, so there's now a lot of research happening to find an alternative.

They've already managed to breed some types of sheep that don't need to be mulesed.

Another idea is a plastic clip that goes on the skin until it falls off.

It's not easy to find an alternative, but both farmers and animal rights groups say they want what ever is best for Garry, Frank, Steve, Paris and their mates!

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At the moment, there's a big push by some people to ban Australian wool. Some retailers from around the world are refusing to use it to make their clothes and some people including stars are refusing to wear it. It's all because of a thing called 'mulesing', but what's that?

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Mulesing was developed in 1927 and for over 80 years it has been a routine surgical husbandry procedure for the majority of sheep in Australia. Sheep, especially Merinos, have woolly wrinkles and folds in their skin, around the tail and breech (back and top of hind legs under tail) area, which can become moist with urine and contaminated with faeces. Blowflies are attracted to this moist area where they lay eggs. Eggs generally hatch into larvae (maggots) within 12-24 hours and feed off the flesh of the sheep for up to 3 days- this is called flystrike, which, if left untreated, is fatal. Blowfly activity is generally highest in spring, when weather conditions are warm and moist.

RSPCA Australia believes that farm animal husbandry and management practices should provide for the behavioural, social and physiological needs of the individual animal and not cause unnecessary injury, suffering or distress. Mulesing involves cutting flaps of skin from around a lamb's breech and tail to create an area of bare, stretched skin. Because the scarred skin has no folds or wrinkles to hold moisture and faeces, it is less likely to attract blowflies. This makes mulesed sheep less susceptible to flystrike.

Research shows the pain of mulesing is similar to that of castration (removing testicles in ram lambs), but it lasts longer (up to 48 hours). The RSPCA is opposed to practices that cause suffering or distress to animals and does not accept that mulesing should be performed as a routine husbandry procedure. Mulesing should not be needed on properties that are in a low risk area and on properties where producers actively select and breed for fly and worm resistance. Animals that will be sold for slaughter prior to the high flystrike risk period do not need to be mulesed. Mulesing should be the last option farmers choose to control flystrike and only when the risk of flystrike is very high.

The RSPCA view on mulesing is that:

it should not be done if other humane procedures can be used to protect sheep from flystrike and include the following integrated approaches;

the timing of shearing and crutching

effective tail docking (where required)

strategic application of preventative chemical treatments to prevent flystrike (where required)

effective control of scouring (especially the control of intestinal worms)

regular inspection (daily during high risk periods) of the flock

genetic improvement to breed sheep with low wrinkle, less dags, less urine stain and less wool around the breech

it must only be used as a management procedure in areas where it is known it will reduce the incidence of flystrike

it must only be performed by a competent person on a well-restrained lamb that is less than 12 weeks of age AND using appropriate pain relief

older animals require anaesthesia during mulesing and aftercare to assist healing

lambs should not be mulesed if they are sold for slaughter at an early age prior to the high flystrike risk period.

Alternatives to mulesing
Public pressure to improve sheep welfare has led to the wool industry researching alternatives to mulesing. The RSPCA supports work on safe and humane ways to reduce flystrike and urges industry to give this priority. Various studies are underway, including:

Breeding offers the only long-term solution. The genetic traits that can be bred out of sheep to reduce flystrike have been found. They are: wrinkles; a bare area around the breech and tail; resistance to worms; susceptibility to diarrhoea; and the amount of wax and moisture in the fleece. Results of breeding trials over many years are positive and the work is continuing.

SkinTraction ®

A needle-less injection of a solution of sodium lauryl sulphate enters the skin and causes the skin to contract. The solution denatures the protein in the skin which causes a scab to form and then fall off. This leaves stretched and bare skin around the breech and tail with reduced wool. Regulatory approval has been given for SkinTraction with stringent label use requirements.
Gene mapping the sheep blowfly
This project involves mapping blowfly genes to find ones that could be useful for fly control such as odour detection for seeking susceptible sheep, i.e. suitable for eggs to be laid. Mapping will be the basis for future work on insecticides or vaccines. There is also the potential for mass release of male blowflies that are genetically altered to be sterile. Research has shown promise into the difference in odour of fly attractive versus repellent sheep. There is also ongoing research into wool odour and skin bacteria.
Other initiatives

There is a project on controlling worms, lice and flies to reduce reliance on chemical control. It uses natural enemies or other biological agents, as finding alternatives to chemicals is important because parasites are becoming resistant.

Liquid Nitrogen Proof of Concept project. Preliminary results indicate that liquid nitrogen may produce bare skin edges on the tail. Initial results suggest that welfare impacts are much milder than mulesing. However, further more extensive field trials are continuing.

Laser Technology Proof of Concept: An initial scoping study into the suitability of laser technology to permanently remove wool from the skin of sheep failed the proof of concept assessment. Further development of the technology used is needed before progressing.

There is a new National Mulesing Accreditation Program (NMAP) currently being developed by Animal Health Australia and WoolProducers Australia. This program is endorsed under the Australian Qualifications Framework and will train and assess mulesing operators to a national standard. It is aimed at all contractors and owners who mules sheep. Accreditation teaches operators how to achieve the best health and welfare standards until an alternative to mulesing is found. Unfortunately it is only a voluntary scheme but should be made mandatory.

Woolgrowers can complete a form (National Wool Declaration) when selling wool to certify they do not mules or mules with pain relief. A small premium is offered for declaring your mulesing status and higher premiums can be achieved with direct sales.

There is a post-mulesing topical spray (Tri-Solfen®) available for pain relief, which is applied immediately after mulesing. Tri-Solfen is available to producers to buy over the counter. However, it is not compulsory to use Tri-Solfen when mulesing and only about 60% of lambs currently mulesed in Australia have Tri-Solfen applied.

What can be done now?
The key to effectively managing flystrike in the absence of mulesing is an integrated approach to blowfly control. Such an approach includes animal husbandry and farm management practices as described above. While ever mulesing is conducted, it should only be done by an operator assessed to be competent and using pain relief.

A cumulative effect to increase a flock's overall resistance to flystrike can be achieved with a breeding and selection program that aims to:

reduce wrinkle and dags,

increase the bare area in the breech region and

remove sheep susceptible to flystrike from the flock.

To date, the wool industry has not demonstrated that producers are reducing their reliance on mulesing. There is no evidence of a trend showing a steady decline in the number of sheep being mulesed as a proportion of the total flock (Merinos versus non-Merinos). It is imperative that the industry shows progress in relation to adoption of improved management and breeding practices to minimise the number of sheep mulesed in Australia.

This website provides general information which must not be relied upon or regarded as a substitute for specific professional advice, including veterinary advice. We make no warranties that the website is accurate or suitable for a person's unique circumstances and provide the website on the basis that all persons accessing the website responsibly assess the relevance and accuracy of its content.

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What is mulesing and what are the alternatives?

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Mulesing was developed in 1927 and for over 80 years it has been a routine surgical husbandry procedure for the majority of sheep in Australia. Sheep, especially Merinos, have woolly wrinkles and folds in their skin, around the tail and breech (back and top of hind legs under tail) area, which can become moist with urine and contaminated with faeces.

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OK, at the start of the program we promised you a story about sheep burping. Well here it is it's all about a bunch of scientists who are trying to work out how often sheep burp and well, break wind. Because the result isn't just bad for the nostrils it can be bad for the environment too.

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Behind the News - 26/08/2008: Golden Shears

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Well while the Olympics have been on some Aussies have been in training for another international comp Theyve been sharpening their clippers for a shearing competition in a very unusual place So Ki

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BBC Kill It Cut It Use It 2of5 Sheep PDTV x264 AAC MVGroup org

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Cattle, sheep and goat industries | Meat & Livestock Australia

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The cattle, sheep and goat industries plays an important role in Australia's economy, society and environmental management.