A quasi-communist, capitalist fueled, socialist utopia like Sweden... a 'threat' to Oz wool exports? Bwahahahahahahahahahaha. Ridiculuous exaggeration of that impotent states capacity to do anything of substance.

Sweden is a rabidly docile, compliant PC culture, where more adults live off other peoples backs, than there are backs to live off. And guess what? They feeeeeeel absolutely entitled to ride the sheeples back. How ironic.

Islamification of self-immolating nation states like Sweden is not a curse. Its a blessing in disguise. This is the nature of short-sighted, sentiment fueled and poorly reasoned ultra-liberal states. They effectively liberate themselves out of existence. People being what they are... we go for the mile when given the inch and this is happening inthe rabidly liberal cultures of the west.

Balance is what is required. However the lefty hacks. like the right wing hacks want it all their own way. In the case of socialist inspired liberalism, their, uhm inconsistent 'tolerance' of politically correct social and cultural 'differences' leads to self abasement. Happens all the time.

To wit, given that being open and tolerant is a cornerstone of liberalism, its only natural that those who enable the thing, should only be too happy to eventually step aside when the the new liberated group assumes the reins of power. As they must, by definition.

Its social evolution. And its always pricelessly amusing when these folks shoot themselves in their liberal feet and wounder why their liberal culture is being replaced by another liberated cultural group.

'Aint nature grand.

I agree with wildwood completely on this:

"I come from a merino sheep farming background in WA, and am well aware of the process of mulesing, and the issues involved. It is really quite a cruel thing to do to a baby animal without use of any anesthetic, before or after the operation. While I completely agree that this is preferable to the animals becoming flystruck (I wonder how many city dwelling Europeans have seen a live animal with maggots eating into its flesh?) I do think that the industry should have realised a very long time ago that in a society waking up to animal cruelty, mulesing was never going to be an acceptable form of preventing fly strike. We just should not have come to a situation where it takes the screaming of animal rights groups, and countries boycotting our produce for the industry to do something. Farmers could and should have lobbied for alternatives a long time ago."

Also, aren't their tails cut off which they could use to swat away the flies?

astonishing article. i can accept the poverty of the arguments: olo publishes all manner of nonsense. but the hysterical tone and the gratuitous, tendentious irrelevant slurs were incredible.

please keep writing, ariel. you're the anti-mulesing lobby's best friend.

The sad reality of the anti mulesing hysteria, is that merino sheep
are going to be the big losers, as they die lonely deaths under
some tree or behind some rock, eaten alive by maggots.

Australian farms, stations, are not 5 ha Swedish style farmlets.

Trisolfen has been developed, if it is made available at local
Landmark, Elders stores etc, people will use it. That is not the
case at present. Farmers are not to blame for that, but Govt red
tape.

Last time I looked, in the US something like 97% of babies being
circumcised had no pain relief, just a few years ago, so the present
hysteria is exactly that.

But hysteria will be hysteria, especially by animal rights activists
who know nothing about the livestock and industry in question.

In this case, Peta's actions will land up causing huge suffering,
but in their ignorance, they are most likely not even aware of that.

Are there any country veterinarians out there who can strike the middle ground?

Yabby it is a little naive of you to believe that all animal activists no nothing about the issues they support.

Steel you are correct about the tails, at least on crossbred sheep anyway. We did a trial this year and left most of our lamb's tails intact. We had a horrendous fly season this year because of the rain but, lambs with tails were not struck on the breach. Some were struck on the shoulders, which in my experience is just as common as the breach. Many of the lambs with docked tails were blown on the breach.

There is another factor to this debate that just never seems to rate a mention. How much influence does the shearer have in whether or not sheep are mulesed? As a woolclasser, I have heard many times a shearer threatening an owner that if they do not do something about 'those wrickly arse sheep' they will not be back next year. No they are not interested in the welfare of the sheep, just the damage to their gear and the extra time it takes to shear them.