‘Nobody likes mulesing’: the market shift changing Australia’s wool industry
Written by Eliza Spencer from the Guardian
Researchers say it may not be possible to completely end mulesing and still prevent flystrike in Australian conditions – but the practice can be improved
Flystrike starts in the greasy folds of skin that characterise Merino sheep. Moist and lined with lanolin, it’s the perfect spot for blowflies to lay their eggs. The maggots hatch in the darkness and feed on the living tissue of sheep until they emerge, sheltering in wet lumps of wool, marked by large wounds with weeping lesions, swollen skin and the smell of rotting flesh.
One blowfly can produce up to 300 eggs per cycle, laying a new batch every few days. Without rapid, intensive antibiotic treatment, the sheep will die.
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Written by Eliza Spencer from the Guardian
Researchers say it may not be possible to completely end mulesing and still prevent flystrike in Australian conditions – but the practice can be improved
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Flystrike starts in the greasy folds of skin that characterise Merino sheep. Moist and lined with lanolin, it’s the perfect spot for blowflies to lay their eggs. The maggots hatch in the darkness and feed on the living tissue of sheep until they emerge, sheltering in wet lumps of wool, marked by large wounds with weeping lesions, swollen skin and the smell of rotting flesh.
One blowfly can produce up to 300 eggs per cycle, laying a new batch every few days. Without rapid, intensive antibiotic treatment, the sheep will die.
Sign up to receive Guardian Australia’s fortnightly Rural Network email newsletter
Continue reading...
Since you’re here …
… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters – because it might well be your perspective, too.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more secure. Support the Guardian – it only takes a minute. Thank you.