Skin sheared from sheep - "mulesing"

[yamayamayama 2]

Check this out, farmer friend who loves sheep is up in arms

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/4699931.stm

 

A row has been taking place in Australia over a controversial farming practice, where skin is sheared from sheep to protect them from maggot infestation.

 

Twelve months ago, most Australians had not heard of a sheep-farming procedure known as "mulesing".

[window-cleaner 0]

Yes more info here:

http://www.savethesheep.com/animals.asp

 

and

http://www.animal-lib.org.au/lists/mulesing/mules.shtml

 

This bloody disgrace is called Mulesing

Can you imagine the public outcry if someone grabbed a dog and sliced away skin and flesh the size of a dinner plate from around its anus and tail with a pair of shears and without anaesthetic.

 

Well Australian protection laws, whilst prohibiting such cruelty on companion animals, allow this gory primitive act to be carried out on millions of sheep each year.

 

Why is Mulesing performed?

 

Because the Merino sheep is deliberately bred to have loose skin folds. This produces a sheep which is very unsuitable for Australia. The folds become sweaty and damp in the summer and a percentage of sheep suffer flystrike. Many farmers breed for straight-bodied sheep (without the folds) but others take the cheap and cruel option of cutting the folds off.

 

Is Mulesing necessary?

 

No, but State Agriculture Departments promote it because it is cheaper and easier to mules once, rather than to provide proper management such as good breeding, inspection and crutching. Mulesing is performed to save labour costs and is an economic decision. In a NSW Department of Agriculture publication entitled Science and the Merino Breeder, the authors Dun and Eastoe confirm this: "Breech strike by the sheep blowfly is a good example of a major disease which can be largely controlled by the breeding for absence of skin folds."

[Karnidge 2]

That looks awful, anything cruel to animals gets me so angry straight up.

[sava 0]

Although mulesing is painful, it is currently the only viable short term measure. While better breeding may improve things (fly strike is still a possibility) it takes many years even with genetic engineering (which may have unintended consequences)

Chemical approaches are being worked on, but the current pesticides can be harmful to the sheep. Not doing anything with the resulting flystrike can be horrible with sheep often needing to be put down.

[soubriquet 0]

I have worked with sheep in the UK, and the domestic breeds (not merino) were still prone to strike, despite not having the skin folds. We used to dip, and that would control it, but the pesticide we used was dealdrin, and is now banned.

 

Fly strike is horrible. The flies lay their eggs in the daggy wool around the anus. The maggots hatch and bore into the flesh, and eventually kill the sheep if not treated.

 

I can't see why selective breeding can't be used. Sheep are not uniformly woolly, and although its a long time since I've looked at a sheep's arse, neither are they.

[scouser 4]

(the looking at arse comment)

 

Is this primarily happening in Australia?

[soubriquet 0]

 Quote:

Originally posted by scouser:
Is this primarily happening in Australia?

Apparently yes. Never heard of it in the UK.

[Honest John 0]

Never heard of it either. Know a few sheep farmers, will ask.