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24 September 2007
The Australian Wool Growers Association (AWGA) is calling for commonsense solutions to the current Mulesing issue. AWGA Chairman Martin Oppenheimer says “Animal welfare should be the prime consideration in the development of any mulesing alternatives, followed then by practicality, effectiveness & cost.”
AWGA supports the positive leadership shown by the Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders, which has endorsed mulesing with pain relief, up to & beyond 2010, as a humane alternative to conventional mulesing. (Will Roberts, The Land letters 20/9/07)
This position is backed by the CSIRO study reported in the Australian Veterinary Journal in March 2007, which determined that analgesia can alleviate the pain response of lambs to mulesing.
AWGA supports the compact signed by AWI, WoolProducers & AWGA with
US retailers in 2005, including the following important points;
Point 1 The Australian Wool & Sheep Industry Task Force aspires to
produce wool in a way which alleviates animal discomfort to the greatest
extent practicable,
Point 5 The Australian Wool & Sheep Industry Task Force has resolved
that mulesing will be phased out by the end of 2010 or sooner if viable
alternatives become available prior to that date.
Point 6 In the meantime, The Australian Wool & Sheep Industry Task
Force will adopt the use of painkilling products when such products are
proven to be efficacious, practical to administer & commercially available.
Feedback from woolgrowers who have used the prototype mulesing “alternative” clip show that there are many problems with this technology. Unfortunately the clips cause the sheep significant discomfort. They are slow to administer successfully (around 300 lambs per day), & require skilled operators & special cradles. To retrieve the clips, lambs need to be re-handled again within 2 weeks of application.
Without pain relief, the prototype clip will fail Point 1 of the agreement with retailers, as it does not alleviate animal discomfort. The clip may also fail Point 5 as it is unlikely to be commercially viable because of cost & problems associated with application & retrieval.
However, the Australian wool industry does have the opportunity to fulfil the promised Point 6 of the agreement with retailers to use currently available painkilling products, until other viable alternatives are developed. This will include selection for merinos that do not need mulesing (C.Massy “Wrinkle free solution” The Land letters 20/9/07), remembering that major genetic changes usually take at least 5-10 years.
“Any viable alternative to conventional mulesing must reduce animal discomfort, be effective, practical & low cost. Commonsense must prevail & solutions such as pain relief with mulesing should be encouraged, so that woolgrowers can have confidence to start re-building the Australian merino flock.”
Martin Oppenheimer
Chairman AWGA
02 6777 2124
0413 580 040
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