Effects of mulesing and alternative procedures to mulesing on the behaviour and physiology of lambs

Abstract

Mulesing involves the surgical removal of skin adjacent to the perineum and tail without anaesthesia or analgesia in lambs. This procedure was developed to reduce the risk of flystrike (cutaneous myiasis) around the perineum. Alternative interventions to mulesing have historically been insufficient to manage outbreaks of breech strike and avoid large losses of animals and the associated animal suffering. Over 4 weeks, we used behavioural, physiological, health and fitness variables to evaluate the welfare implications of two alternative procedures to surgical mulesing that enlarge and stretch the perineum: an intradermal injection of sodium lauryl sulphate, an anionic surfactant that causes ..