What Is Mulesing? An Informative Guide for Yarn Crafters | Fancy Yarns Australia

This article was updated in July 2026 to reflect recent legislation changes around this topic.

If you've shopped for wool yarn, you've likely seen the term "non-mulesed" on a label and wondered what it refers to. Mulesing is a topic that comes up often in conversations about wool and sheep welfare, particularly in Australia, and it's one where makers understandably want clear information rather than a sales pitch in either direction.

This guide sets out what mulesing is, why it exists, the welfare considerations on both sides of the debate and what the current picture looks like in Australia. Our aim is to give you the facts so you can make the choice that's right for you.

What is Mulesing?

Mulesing is a procedure in which strips of wool-bearing skin are removed from around the breech (the hindquarters) of a sheep, usually with specially designed shears. When the wound heals, it forms an area of smooth, bare scar tissue with no wrinkles or folds. Because that smooth skin doesn't trap moisture or faeces, it's far less likely to attract the blowflies that cause flystrike.

The procedure is carried out almost exclusively on Merino sheep, and almost exclusively in Australia. It's typically done during lamb marking, when lambs are around two to ten weeks old, alongside other husbandry procedures like tail docking and ear tagging.

To understand why the practice exists at all, it helps to understand the condition it's designed to prevent.

The Problem of Flystrike

Flystrike, known medically as myiasis, is a serious and painful condition caused by blowflies (particularly Lucilia cuprina) laying eggs in damp, soiled wool, most often around the breech. The eggs hatch into larvae within around a day, and the larvae feed on the sheep's flesh. Left untreated, flystrike causes severe pain, infection and often a slow death.

It's a significant animal welfare problem in its own right. Flystrike is estimated to cost the Australian sheep industry over $320 million a year in prevention, treatment and losses, but the more important cost is the suffering it causes the affected animals. This matters to the mulesing debate, because preventing flystrike is itself a welfare goal, not simply a commercial one.

Certain Merino sheep are especially vulnerable because they've historically been bred for wrinkled skin, which produces more wool but also creates the moist folds where flystrike takes hold.

Where Mulesing Came From

The practice of mulesing dates back to the 1920s when Australian grazier John Mules observed that removing skin from the breech area of sheep reduced flystrike incidence. This observation led to the development of the mulesing procedure, which became widespread in Australia due to its effectiveness in preventing flystrike.

The Welfare Debate

This is a topic where different groups of people, including farmers, veterinarians and animal welfare organisations, hold different views. Here's a fair summary of the main considerations.

The case for concern about mulesing

Mulesing is painful. The procedure itself is quick, but the wound takes five to seven weeks to heal, and studies have documented pain-related behaviours in mulesed lambs, including reduced socialising, weight loss and avoidance of humans for several weeks afterwards.

Animal welfare organisations, including the RSPCA, argue that because a genetic alternative (breeding flystrike-resistant sheep) has been available for years, the continued mulesing of large numbers of sheep is avoidable.

The case made by many woolgrowers

Flystrike is itself an extreme welfare harm, and in high-risk regions mulesing remains one of the most effective tools for preventing it. Many in the industry argue that removing mulesing without a fully proven alternative in place risks a worse welfare outcome, and that the practical realities of sheep and blowfly biology mean the transition has to be managed carefully rather than rushed.

The point both sides largely agree on is that any move away from mulesing needs to be paired with genuinely effective flystrike prevention, so that sheep aren't simply left vulnerable. The disagreement is mostly about pace and method, not about whether sheep welfare matters.

Pain Relief and the Regulatory Picture

One of the biggest shifts in recent years has been the uptake of pain relief. Historically, mulesing was performed without any. Today, the large majority of mulesed lambs receive pain relief: industry survey data from 2024 reported that around 90% of Merino producers used appropriate pain relief.

It's worth understanding what pain relief does and doesn't do. The products available (typically a topical anaesthetic like Tri-Solfen, and/or an anti-inflammatory) reduce pain during and after the procedure, but their effect lasts hours to days, while the wound itself takes weeks to heal. Animal welfare groups therefore describe pain relief as an important interim measure rather than a complete solution.

The regulatory landscape is changing and varies by state:

• Victoria mandated pain relief for mulesing in 2020.

• Tasmania regulated it in 2024.

• Western Australia confirmed in late 2025 that it would mandate pain relief.

• New South Wales, Australia's largest sheep state, moved in 2026 to mandate pain relief.

• Queensland requires pain relief for mulesing sheep aged between six and twelve months under its mandatory code of practice, but not for younger lambs, and has not committed to a broader mandate.

• South Australia requires pain relief for mulesing under its Animal Welfare Regulations 2012, but only for sheep over six months of age, similar to Queensland. This leaves routine mulesing of younger lambs outside the mandate. The state is also overhauling its animal welfare laws under a new Animal Welfare Act 2025, with the associated regulations still being developed at the time of writing.

• The Australian Capital Territory and Northern Territory have minimal commercial wool-sheep production, and mulesing is not a meaningful practice in either of these territories.

Because this area is actively evolving, it's worth checking the current position if it matters to your buying decisions.

Alternatives to Mulesing

Several alternatives are in use or development, each with its own strengths and limitations.

Breeding for flystrike resistance

Selectively breeding plainer-bodied Merinos with fewer skin wrinkles reduces flystrike susceptibility without any surgical procedure. This is widely regarded as the most promising long-term solution, and the number of producers who have ceased mulesing has grown steadily over the past decade as a result. The main limitation is time: transitioning a flock can take a few years for some and considerably longer for others.

Crutching

Regularly shearing the wool from around the breech helps keep the area clean and reduces flystrike risk. It's non-invasive but more labour-intensive, as it needs repeating through the year.

Chemical treatments

Insecticides and preventative chemical treatments can protect sheep for a period, though concerns about chemical resistance and residues mean they're generally seen as part of a strategy rather than a standalone answer.

Steining (freeze branding)

A newer technique that applies liquid nitrogen to the skin folds, freezing the tissue so the wrinkles eventually drop away, producing a similar smooth-skinned result to mulesing. Some early research suggests steined lambs may experience less pain in the days after the procedure than mulesed lambs, though studies have also found the procedure itself is painful without pain relief, and it remains relatively new with research ongoing.

Intradermal treatments and clips

Protein-based injections that reduce wool growth in the breech and clips that remove skin folds, are also being researched and trialled, with varying results on effectiveness so far.

What "Non-Mulesed" Means When You're Buying Wool

In Australia, woolgrowers can voluntarily declare the mulesing status of their wool through the National Wool Declaration, which lets buyers distinguish mulesed from non-mulesed wool. Non-mulesed wool increasingly attracts a price premium at auction, reflecting genuine and growing market demand.

A few things worth knowing as a maker:

• Mulesing is almost entirely an Australian practice. New Zealand banned it in 2018, so wool from most other countries is very unlikely to have come from mulesed sheep.

• If a yarn doesn't state its mulesing status, that doesn't automatically mean the sheep were mulesed, but the most reliable way to know is a clear declaration from the producer or brand.

• Some Australian producers, like Great Southern Yarn, maintain full traceability and can tell you exactly where and how their wool was produced.

If mulesing status matters to you, it's always worth asking a yarn company directly.

Producers who work with non-mulesed wool will usually be happy to share that information.

Making the Choice That's Right for You

Whether or not to choose non-mulesed wool is a personal decision, and there's no single right answer. Every maker brings their own values, priorities and circumstances to their craft.

Some will feel strongly about buying only non-mulesed wool; others will weigh it alongside other factors like traceability, local production, fibre quality and budget. All of those are reasonable ways to approach it.

What matters most is being able to make an informed choice. Understanding what mulesing is, why it exists and where the practice currently stands means you can decide what feels right for you, without pressure in either direction.

If supporting non-mulesed wool is a priority for you, we stock a range of non-mulesed yarns and we're always happy to talk you through where they come from. And if you'd like to know more about any yarn we carry, just ask, whether that's online or in person at one of our markets.

This article is intended as general information and reflects the understanding and practices related to mulesing as of the time of writing. Because regulation and industry practice in this area are actively changing, some specifics may have moved on since publication.