Acute effects of mulesing and alternative procedures to mulesing on lamb behaviour

Abstract

The practice of surgical mulesing is used as a preventative measure against flystrike in sheep. However, this practice raises welfare concerns due to the severity of the wound and the pain inflicted. Alternative procedures to mulesing have been investigated, but few of these studies have investigated the impact of mulesing and alternative procedures to mulesing on the welfare of lambs in the period immediately following treatment. This study investigated lamb behaviour, as an indicator of lamb welfare, during the 120. min following each of four treatments: Control; Mules (surgical mules without pain relief); Intradermal (chemical mules using the anionic surfactant sodium lauryl sulphate), an..