2015 Pan Pacific Veterinary Conference

Following the activist-led campaign against the Australian sheep industry for acceptance of the mulesing operation in lambs that reduces the life-time risk of flystrike, the spray-on topical anaesthesia formulation (Tri-Solfen®) to manage the pain of the procedure achieved widespread adoption. This product enables improved welfare of sheep in the period that is required until genetic alterations of our ovine phenotypes can progress to address flystrike risk. However this approach has broader applications and research has shown efficacy for use in other livestock husbandry procedures involving surgical interventions, particularly castration and tail docking in lambs, castration in calves, and potentially dehorning in calves and kids, plus general wound treatments, such as shearing cuts. These developments indicate a new paradigm for addressing the welfare concerns of aversive procedures used routinely in livestock husbandry and it is considered increasingly important that not only do international consumers of wool become aware of the improved attitudes and practice on many Australian wool sheep farms, but that such advances may be of benefit to the other livestock industries globally.