The Welfare of Sheep: Mulesing and its alternatives for controlling breech flystrike
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چکیده
Flystrike in sheep is a life-threatening condition whereby fly larvae, primarily Lucilia cuprina, infest the flesh, often in the moist, wrinkled, breech area. Mulesing is currently the main method for preventing breech flystrike of sheep in Australia. Although the combination of topical anaesthetic and long-acting non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) – carprofen was demonstrated to give the greatest pain relief during and after mulesing – NSAIDs are not currently registered for use in sheep in Australia (Paull et al., 2007). Post-treatment pain alleviation by topical anaesthetic thus becomes the only option. Therefore, welfare concerns involving alternatives to mulesing, for instance, intradermal-cetrimide injection, clip application, and breeding flystrike-resistant sheep, are being investigated.
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