2008 News
Mulesing alternatives on show at Karoonda
26 March 2008
With an industry commitment to phase out the current practice of mulesing by 2010, sheep and wool producers are being encouraged to learn about new blowfly control technologies from Australian Wool Innovation (AWI) first-hand at the Karoonda Farm Fair on Friday 4th April and Saturday 5th April.
Ian Evans, AWI’s Project Manager for Blowfly Control, will discuss the progress of alternative options to mulesing including clips, intradermal injections and bare breech breeding strategies.
Animals that have been treated with the ‘breech and tail’ clips will be on display.
The specialised clips attach to skin folds in the breech area of the sheep and, tighten the skin around the breech leaving a result similar to mulesing without an open wound.
Trials of the clips were undertaken last year on over 200 properties. Mr Evans reports that AWI is currently deep in the analysis of the almost one million items of data generated by the clip trials.
“However, early indications are that the clips are working towards producing an outcome similar to conventional mulesing,” says Mr Evans. “While a full analysis of the trials will be available by June 2008, producers should be keen to hear about the progress achieved so far.”
Producers at the fair will also hear about the progress of a needle-less intradermal injection called Skintraction ® being developed by Cobbett Technologies Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based R&D company, with support from AWI, which tightens the skin in the targeted breech area.
“Trials are being conducted by Cobbett Technologies Pty Ltd to confirm initial findings and finalise the dose and application patterns,” says Mr Evans. “Researchers have been encouraged by studies conducted so far.
“The chemical being used is registered for use in agriculture for the treatment of foot rot in sheep and in human medicine a similar chemical is used for treatment of varicose veins.”
There will also be the opportunity to discuss the possibilities for breeding sheep with bare breeches, and the potential for using AWI supported tools such as Sheep Genetics, Merino Superior Sires and the recently issued Visual Sheep Scores guide.
“Early results indicate that smart breeding strategies have a significant potential to reduce breech wrinkle, increase natural bare area, and enhance resistance to breech blowfly strike,” says Mr Evans.
On-going research is looking at whether bareness traits are expressed to the same degree in all genetic groupings and varying environments, how many genes affect the trait and how they are inherited, and precisely what correlations exist with the production and quality traits that impact on Merino profitability.
“There are a growing number of commercial and seedstock producers in Australia who have made excellent progress in this area.”
Mr Evans also noted that AWI supports the use of a pain relief product in the mulesing procedure in the lead up to 2010.
The manager of the Karoonda Farm Fair, Ray Bald, says by 2010 each woolgrower will have to decide upon and implement their own integrated flystrike management strategy using a range of available tools .
“So, sheep and wool producers from across the Murray Mallee region and further afield should be keen to hear the update from AWI, the industry’s R&D company, on its progress with finding alternatives to mulesing,” says Mr Bald.
“We are grateful to Ian Evans of AWI for taking time out of his busy schedule to attend both days of the fair. He’ll be giving two presentations on both days at 11am and 2pm.”
The Karoonda Farm Fair is an annual two-day event showcasing local, state and interstate farming and general interest products, services and events. Based at Karoonda in the heart of the Murray Mallee region, the field day is located 165 kilometres east of Adelaide on the Loxton-Murray Bridge Road. With over 350 exhibitors each year, the field day attracts crowds of around 10-12,000 over the two days.