The following article is submitted to Mobilise! by Animal Liberation of New South Wales... who claim that mulesing is also carried out in New Zealand:
"Most Australian merinos have wrinkly bodies with wool-covered skin-folds. This characteristic provides an ideal environment for the eggs of blow-fly. These eggs hatch into maggots which eat into the flesh of the sheep. To counteract this, mulesing is carried out. Named after its inventor, Mr Mules, it is an operation in which sections of skin are sliced from the buttocks and tails of unanesthetised sheep and lambs. The rationale for the operation is that the resultant scar tissue will not be prone to fly-strike.
Sometimes the wound itself may become fly-struck, sunburned or infected. Mulesing is acknowledged as causing pain and suffering, and mulesed lambs may suffer a set-back in body weight gains, or may die from shock or infection.
Growing numbers of farmers and veterinarians are voicing their abhorrence of the mules operation, not only because of the cruelty involved, but also because alternatives exist. Since the blow-fly only affects sheep., the most sensible option would be a moratorium on the merino wool industry.
