2008 News
Clipping a viable alternative
14 July 2008
Southern NSW wool producer and stud Merino breeder, Bruce Angel, has given clipping a cautious “thumbs up”.
Above: Livestock contractor, Scott Angel, clipping lambs on his family’s Tarcutta-district property, “Broula”
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“Based on what I’ve seen, I believe that clipping presents a viable alternative to mulesing until other options can be developed,” he says.
“There’s no doubt that clipping is a gentler option and it certainly helps to eliminate the urine stain that forms around the breech.
“That said and done, I don’t think we’ll be able to rely on it alone to get the same results.
“We’ll probably have to adopt some additional management procedures, such as a pre-shearing crutch and possibly an extra chemical treatment.
“Personally, I don’t have a problem with mulesing but as a wool grower, I acknowledge that we have to move forward to satisfy our markets.
“For the sake of the industry, I am willing to change my management if it helps to achieve it.”
Mr Angel and his wife, Lyndall, hosted one of the 200 clipping trials conducted by Australian Wool Innovation on their Tarcutta-district property, “Broula”, last year.
While the results of the trials are still being analysed by AWI statisticians, the raw data shows that clipping provides comparable protection against blowfly strike as mulesing, but causes considerably less pain and stress.
Other benefits include higher lamb survival rates and growth rates.
“As a farmer, animal welfare is at the forefront of my mind,” Bruce says.
“It is in my best interests to look after my sheep – if you look after your animals, they will look after you.
“Flystrike is possibly the worst thing that can happen to a sheep.
“The flies are attracted to the urine stain around the breech and lay their eggs.
“These eggs hatch into maggots which eat the flesh of the sheep.
“It is extremely painful and flyblown sheep often die.
“Likewise, I am sure that every wool producer would agree with me that treating struck sheep is one of the worst jobs on the farm.
“Without some form of breech modification, we would have to spend an enormous amount of time checking and treating sheep on an individual basis which simply is not possible in a commercial situation.”
Scott Angel, who operates a livestock contracting business, says clipping is only marginally slower than mulesing.
“When I started, I could only do about 15 lambs an hour but now I’m up to about 120, which is only about 10 less than mulesing,” he says.
“I’ve applied about 5000 clips so far and I will only get quicker as I get more experience.”