It’s time to put an end to live lamb cutting

What is live lamb cutting? 

Live lamb cutting (or ‘mulesing’) involves cutting away strips of skin from around a lamb’s rear end to reduce the risk of flystrike, a painful condition caused by blowfly maggots feeding on a sheep’s flesh. As the wounds heal, the resulting scar tissue is less attractive to blowflies. 

Lambs are often only a few weeks old when they undergo this painful procedure, many of them without any pain relief administered beforehand.  

It doesn’t have to be this way. Instead of being bred with excessively wrinkly skin to grow more wool, sheep can be bred to have smoother skin, which is less attractive to flies, and therefore less susceptible to flystrike, removing the need for live lamb cutting. Many wool producers are already making this transition, showing that there is a better way. 

The alternative exists. Now we need to make the change happen. 

Meet Adira. One lamb’s story. A reason to act. 

Today, Adira spends her days grazing, resting in the shade and enjoying life alongside her companion, Edward. She has the chance to live the life every sheep deserves. 

But her story could have ended very differently. 

Found alone and seriously injured after live lamb cutting, Adira had wounds so severe that her hip bones were exposed. She needed extensive surgery to repair the damage and save her life. 

Remarkably, she survived. 

Now affectionately known as Ads, Adira is a reminder of the suffering lambs can endure, and why we must do more to protect them. 

With your support, we can help create a future where no lamb has to endure what Adira survived.

Together, we can end live lamb cutting

For more than a decade, Humane World for Animals has worked with brands, retailers and consumers to challenge the wool industry’s reliance on this painful practice. 

Our campaigning has helped drive commitments from more than 240 retailers to sourcing wool produced without live lamb cutting. Veterinarians are also calling for a planned phase-out. 

But despite this progress, more than ten million lambs continue to suffer every year. 

Your donation will help us keep up the pressure, raise awareness of what lambs endure, and push for the laws and government action needed to end live lamb cutting. 

Together, we are campaigning for: 

• A nationally agreed, time-bound phase-out of live lamb cutting. 
• Mandatory pain relief while the practice continues. 
• Support for farmers to shift to breed naturally flystrike-resistant sheep. 
• Stronger animal welfare standards to protect sheep. 

Please donate today to help end live lamb cutting and protect future generations of lambs.