shortyjock89":1q044kz6 said:
At the risk of sounding like a total greenhorn..what is Muelsing? If it is related solely to the rearing of sheep, I will feel a little better. You Aussie's do thing's a little different, but you sure can raise some functional animals!
Don't worry, it is a sheep thing (whats a greenhorn?).
Mulesing is not a particularly pleasant operation but one which must be done. It involves the lamb being put into a marking cradle, or otherwise restrained, and the wrinkled skin from the breech is cut from the perianal region to the top of the hindlegs. The skin which is around the anus (and vulva in ewes) is pulled tight as the cut heals and results in a smooth area that does not get fouled by faeces or urine. The cuts are executed to avoid affecting underlying muscle tissue. Because the procedure removes skin, not any underlying flesh or structure, there is little blood loss from the cut other than a minor oozing on the edges of the cut skin. It is normally done in conjunction with marking (ie tagging, castrating, vaccinating and tail docking).
Merino lambs which do not get mulsed grow into sheep with extremely wrinkled breeches. These wrinkles trap moisture, urine and faeces, providing an ideal breeding ground for the blowfly
Lucilia cuprina. The blowfly lays thousands of eggs, which hatch into maggots, which then burrow through the wool into the animal's flesh. The flesh is the primary source of food for the developing maggots. The irony is that once a sheep is flystruck, its flesh becomes even more attractive to other flies, so the sheep is a repeat victim of strike. The maggots will continue to feed on the animal's flesh, not only skin but other tissues. This leaves the sheep with gaping, necrotic wounds. They are susceptible to infections, and in many cases the animal dies of blood poisoning from the maggots or secondary infection. It is a slow, painful death.
Australian sheep farmers have come under attack recently by animal welfare groups, most noticable PETA, who consider mulesing a cruel and unneccesary practice. They have been so effective that traditional mulesing will be illegal in a few years time.
Some other alternatives are being researched and developed, but the thing is none of them are proving to be as effective as traditional methods. Some of the options are: a clip which acts similar to an elastrator band, and causes the dead skin to fall off in a few weeks; a protein injection which is designed to shrink the skin and thus eliminate wrinkles; pain relief sprays. Currently, I and many other sheep producers believe the only option showing promise is the pain relief sprays, which are used in conjuntion with traditional mulesing.
I had to laugh the other day reading an article in our state newpaper about the clips - 'studies have shown that lambs recover and are back on their feet suckling within 20 minutes of clip application'. What a joke! I have seen hundreds of lambs mulesed the traditional way and not one of them failed to walk straight over to its mother for a suck.
Animal welfare activists would like you to believe that we mules sheep because it is cheaper and easier than crutching or spraying sheep more regularly. The truth is that it is the only method that gives LIFETIME protection from flystrike.
Another line I liked from an article I happened upon on the internet a while ago was "The motto of the person doing the mutilation is that they are only sheep, so who gives a sh:t!"
I'm interested to know where this mentality comes from, that farmers couldn't care less about their animals and that they consequently treat them like crap. Thing is, we rely on those animals for our livelihood - logic dictates that we are going to take bl00dy good care of them. It makes no sense for farmers to mistreat their animals, as they rely on healthy, growing animals for their income.
Docking refers to cutting off the tail or using an elastrator band to remove it. Again, this prevents flystrike because the tail is a collection point for dags and urine, and thus attacks blowflies. This is another necessary practice that PETA has attacked, though thankfully not as violently as the mulesing issue.
