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Mulesing against the flystrike disease :

Merino wool is produced from the fur of merino sheep. These sheep are bred in a way that the animals have a very wrinkly skin. As a result, they can produce a higher quantity of wool. However, these skin folds cause a lot of problems: Moisture collects in the folds and faeces and urine are also retained around this area. This attracts the blowfly (Lucilia cuprina), found mainly in Australia and New Zealand, that causes the so-called flystrike. The fly lays its eggs in the warm and humid skin folds of the sheep, from which fly larvae hatch. The maggots nest parasitically in the skin of the animal and can cause infections. For the sheep, this infestation can be fatal.

Mulesing: removal of skin strips – without anaesthetics :

Mulesing means that skin strips around the buttocks of merino sheep are removed. The tissue that grows over the wound does not grow wool again, so it is less likely to attract the flies. The Australian National Farmers Federation states that without mulesing, 3 million sheep a year could die a slow death from flystrike. What sounds like a good thing for the animals has a huge negative: the skin strips are removed without anaesthetics. The procedure is carried out with the sheep fully conscious and it is therefore very painful for the sheep. Afterwards, the wound has to heal without further check-ups. It also happens that the blowfly lays eggs in this open wound and the sheep becomes infested nevertheless.