Mulesing

Lately there has been huge interest in Sweden and in other parts of the world in "mulesing".

Mulesing is the surgical removal of strips of wool-bearing wrinkle skin from around the breech of a sheep. Mulesing is common practice in Australia as a way to reduce the incidence of flystrike on Merino sheep in regions where flystrike is common. Without mulesing, blowfly eggs are laid in moist wool and flesh eating maggots create painful wounds around the backside of the sheep. This occurs when some of the wool and skin is continuously wet and irritated from urine or heavy rainfall.

Australian wool industry

Australia is the world's largest producer of wool. There are approximately 114 million sheep in Australia that account for more than one quarter of the world's total wool production. The sheep are mainly of the Merino breed. Merino is grown primarily for its heavy fleeces of fine wool.

Mulesing will be phased out by the end of 2010

The wool industry in Australia is well aware of concerns in the community about the acceptability of mulesing. Therefore, in 2004 the industry voluntarily undertook to phase out this practice by 31 December 2010 and commenced development of alternative methods for flystrike prevention. In addition, the industry has developed a system whereby sheep producers who no longer need to mules their flocks can provide wool declared to be from flocks where mulesing is no longer performed. Retailers are also able to access a tag for garments that are made from such wool.

Sweden's opinion

In Sweden, the public is very interested in - and concerned about - animal welfare matters. Sweden also has well-developed animal welfare legislation containing strict rules on how animals are to be treated. At the same time, however, Sweden acknowledge the right of other countries to establish their own legislation.

It is the opinion of the Swedish Government that blowfly attacks and the practice of mulesing constitute major animal welfare problems. Sweden is well aware of the animal welfare problems that may occur if mulesing is not replaced by some other procedure to prevent flystrike and strongly encourage Australia's work to find better alternatives than mulesing.

The intention of the Swedish Minister for Agriculture is to discuss mulesing and other types of mutilations with his colleagues in the EU as well as with the EU Commissioner responsible for animal welfare.

The Swedish Government is very satisfied with the fact that the cooperation between Australian authorities, the industry and non-governmental organisations will lead to a ban by the end of 2010.

Swedish import restrictions on Australian wool are not the solution to the problem. Consumers in Sweden are very concerned about how the products they buy are produced. Consumer power is very effective and retailers must take account of the wishes of consumers. Consumers in Sweden often make conscious choices in order to contribute to a more sustainable society and - when it comes to animal welfare - a better life for animals.