Pain relief for Australian sheep
Mulesing, the surgical removal of a strip of wool-bearing wrinkle
skin from around the tail of a sheep under no anesthesia, is standard
practice in Australia. While animal welfare advocates claim that
mulesing is a brutal practice given the pain and distress it causes to
the animals, sheep producers say that they do it for the welfare of
their sheep, much like factory farm owners say that they mutilate their
animals without anesthesia (debeaking, tail-docking, castration, etc.)
or confined them in such small cages that they cannot even turned
around, for their own-well being.
Bayer, the German chemical and pharmaceutical company, has developed
a powerful anesthetic, Tri-Solfen, for use in mulesing sheep. It is
believed that this anesthetic will satisfy the increasing concern of
wool retailers, consumers and animal right activists.
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Although Bayer has evidently come up with an aid to alleviate animal
suffering, practices such as mulesing should not take place as they are
performed for the benefit of the victimizer and not the victim.
Clarification: The Australian sheep who suffer mulesing are
Merino sheep since they have extra skin folds and therefore are more
prone to the infestation of the Australian blowfly. Animals infested
suffer agonizing wounds that lead to blood loss, septicemia and death.
There’s controversy in that although mulesing clearly decreases the rate
of blowfly infestation, it involves pain and suffering during the
procedure and after until healing has occurred.
Opponents of mulesing state that the practice would not be necessary
if these sheep were not bred in hot and humid places were the blowfly
exists, and/or if a more frequent and close monitoring for flies were
carried out. (http://www.safe.org.nz/Campaigns/Scorned-Sheep/)
Supporters of mulesing state that it’s a necessary procedure to
prevent a greater suffering and death of sheep; and that alternatives to
mulesing are being researched
Your question and comments are welcome