Transition to non-mulesed and the use of DNA testing

Sally was invited to present an update to the Health & Welfare Committee recently about what we are doing with our clients working towards transitioning to non-mulesed and the use of DNA testing.  As part of Sally’s research it was encouraging to see the increase in the number of animals being submitted to Sheep Genetics and in particular the increase in the flystrike indicator traits – breech and body wrinkle, breech cover, dag and fleece rot.  Worm egg count has not seen a major increase and this is partly due to the recent drought and dry seasons. 

Interestingly between the 2017 and 2019 drop submissions there has been an increase of 34% more records submitted for early breech wrinkle, 14% increase for early breech cover, 30% increase in late body wrinkle and an 11% increase in late dag records submitted to Sheep Genetics. The other encouraging aspect of this increase is that the majority are coming from industry flocks not just research flocks.

There is starting to be an increasing appetite for gathering more data to make informed decisions to assist with transitioning to non-mulesed. The genetic trend trajectory for early breech wrinkle is also encouraging given the diversity of genetics being submitted to Sheep Genetics.