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Mulesing
Mulesing
History
About
Mulesing
Mulesing
History
Introduction.
The
mules operation was named after J.H.W. Mules who conceived and
pioneered the procedure.
Mulesing
History.
The
Mules operation, in one form or another, is now widely practiced
in most parts of Australia where Merino sheep are raised, and,
in combination with correct tail docking, it has virtually
eliminated blowfly strike on the crutch and tail.
Mulesing
has saved the sheep industry many millions of dollars and will
continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
Probably
many of the younger sheepmen today do not fully appreciate what
a severe problem blowfly strike was in the days before the Mules
operation. As an added bonus, the operation also facilitates
crutching and lambing and there is less stained wool from
treated sheep.
A
number of investigators deserve credit for improving the
operation, but undoubtedly most of the credit must go to J.H.W.
Mules who conceived and pioneered the procedure.
Mules
wrote in 1935: “I have never doubted that my process would
become general usage, but have overtaxed my strength in placing
it on the map. I know that it will be the biggest of all factors
in beating the fly.” (He suffered a stroke while demonstrating
it in 1932).
Origin
of Mulesing Contractors.
In
1941 the NSW Department of Agriculture carried out a
demonstration of mulesing at “Gillondoon”, Warren, in an
attempt to prove the advantages of mulesing to the local
graziers.
Albert
(Abby) Godson, with his employer, a grazier, was one of those
who attended the Field Day and had a go at mulesing.
On
returning home, Abby mulesed one thousand, twelve-month-old ewes
for the grazier as a trial.
The
grazier reported a ninety nine percent result against the
blowfly strike in those sheep, which caused a great deal of
interest from the neighbouring landholders.
Before
long Abby was mulesing sheep on the neighbouring properties
Abby
soon realized that mulesing was becoming very popular so he
resigned from his job to become the first Mulesing Contractor.
By
1947 Abby could not keep up with the demand for mulesing. Arthur
Godson, who was Abby’s brother, left his job as a stationhand
at Warren to join with Abby and become a Mulesing Contractor.
Abby
had three other brothers who also became Mulesing Contractors.
Arthur’s
son Gordon and grandsons Warren, Geoff and Jarrod are all
Accredited Mulesing Contractors today.
Benefits.
Breech
strike has been reduced significantly since the introduction of
mulesing.
Mulesing
has reduced the amount of chemicals required to protect sheep
from flystrike.
Mulesing
has also helped in reducing the chemical residue problems in the
wool which is necessary to comply with our export markets
(especially European).
Occupational
Health and Safety (OHS) standards are met by the mulesing
operation by the reduction of the need for chemical useage on
sheep
RSPCA.
The
RSPCA is supportive of the LCA in its progressive move of
establishing the Guidelines for Mulesing and the Mulesing
Accreditation Protocol in its attempt to improve the standards
of mulesing and the quality of the Contractors by creating a
minimum standard for Contractors.
