Do sheep suffer? How to choose wool without cruelty – Mulesing Free

The topic of animal welfare always sparks discussions about the ethics of wool production. On the one hand, wool is an ideal material for clothing from an environmental perspective – it is a renewable resource (it grows back, and sheep need to be sheared regularly), it does not pollute ecosystems, is fully biodegradable, does not generate microplastic waste, is highly durable and offers great versatility when it comes to the use of its fibres. On the other hand, animal rights advocates remind us of “mulesing”, a cruel practice used in sheep farming. So, what exactly is mulesing? What does “Mulesing Free” mean? What should you look out for when buying wool?

We have gathered the most important information on this topic for you and put it together in a nutshell.

WHAT IS MULESING?

What is mulesing and why is it so cruel? It is a practice intended to prevent wool from growing around the rear parts of sheep (around the anus). This is done to protect sheep from infections and flystrike. Flystrike occurs when fly larvae develop between folds of skin and can pose a serious threat to the health of sheep, potentially even leading to death. To prevent this, a strip of skin is removed from the sheep’s hindquarters together with the wool, and the procedure is most often carried out without any anaesthesia.

Studies on the subject report that the pain experienced by a sheep during mulesing can be comparable to castration, but lasting for as long as 48 hours! Shocking.

After the strips of skin are removed, a smooth scar forms, leaving flies with nowhere to lay their eggs. From the farmer’s point of view – cheap and effective.

When it comes to animal welfare – terrible! Just thinking about it can make you want to give up everything made of wool, just as people have done with natural fur...

ARE THERE MULESING FREE CERTIFICATIONS? HOW DO YOU CHOOSE WOOL OBTAINED WITHOUT CRUEL PRACTICES?

Mulesing most commonly concerns sheep and wool yarn originating from Australia, where, unfortunately, there are still no regulations governing this practice.

As a result of numerous campaigns raising awareness about mulesing, many Merino sheep farms around the world have decided to abandon this ruthless practice. There are other methods that protect sheep just as effectively, but they are more costly.

Unfortunately, no global certification has been introduced to date that would confirm that wool is mulesing free. Producers and companies like ours (from the very beginning of our activity) have to rely on declarations from farmers and require proof that mulesing is not used through statements and audits.

At the beginning of KOPYTO’s activity, in order to avoid mulesing, we bought wool from a producer in Italy who declared that no mulesing was used, including that no wool was sourced from Australia.

Today, every purchase of our wool comes with a declaration confirming that the yarn was sourced from farms where mulesing is not used.

At the moment, this is the only available option for producers like us. That is why we officially state that KOPYTO wool is MULESING FREE. We believe that the declarations provided to us by our producers are truthful, and that the sheep providing the Merino wool used to create our products do not suffer and are raised in decent conditions.

You can read more about our certifications here.

You can read more about our company philosophy here.