NEW South Wales’ peak stud Merino breeder body is maintaining its opposition to mandatory pain relief when mulesing sheep, despite the introduction of legislation to regulate the practice in the state’s parliament last week.

NSW sheep producers could risk fines of more than $80,000 if they mules sheep without approved pain relief, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Enforcement and Operational Powers) Bill 2026, tabled in the state’s Legislative Council by NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty last week.

NSW Stud Merino Breeders Association vice-president Malcolm Cox said the body was against mandation of pain relief for mulesing, but supported “best practice”.

“We’re against mandation at all, on any issue.

“People should be able to do what they feel is best practice, whether that be whatever,” he said.

“We don’t like Big Brother looking into our businesses is what it amounts to.

“We’ll probably try and do something about it,” Mr Cox said.

“If people want to use pain relief, they can go their hardest, but we don’t want mandation.”

Mr Cox recognised that ‘best practice’ meant the use of pain relief, “but we just don’t like the word mandation.”

“That’s the thin end of the wedge, where do they go from there with it?

“Where does it stop?” he said.

“We just don’t like them telling us how we can run our businesses.”

Merino Australia supports pain relief, but not mandation

President of the national Merino Australia body, Geoff Davidson, said the issue would be discussed at a meeting in Sydney tomorrow night.

“We support the use of pain relief, but not necessarily the mandation of anything.

“But we certainly support the use of pain relief and we recognise when it suits, the use of Tri-Solfen for its antiseptic and anaesthetic qualities.”

Mr Davidson said all the state Merino stud breeder associations are members of Merino Australia, including NSW and Western Australia, which had withdrawn from the previous national body, the Australian Association of Stud Merino Breeders. He said all the state bodies attended Merino Australia’s meeting in January in the Australian Wool Innovation board room.

He said he would discuss the issue with the various Merino breeders associations and other members of the AWI WoolGrower Industry Consultation Panel and the Woolgrower Consultation Group in Sydney this week.

Mr Davidson said Merino Australia would also consult with the NSW breeders association on whether to actively oppose the NSW Government bill on mandatory pain relief for mulesing.

“I won’t have an opinion on mandation until I spoken to all those.”

NSW Farmers silent on pain relief legislation

In its media release pre-empting the bill’s introduction to the NSW Legislative Council last Thursday, the Minns Government said it undertook comprehensive engagement with stakeholders such as RSPCA NSW, Animal Welfare League, Australian Alliance for Animals, Animal Care Australia, Humane World for Animals, NSW Farmers, Sheep Producers Australia, and Australian Veterinary Association.

Sheep Central has been unable to get comment from NSW Farmers on the new legislative initiative; however, the body has previously only supported an industry-led initiative for mandating pain relief for mulesing.

At the 2025 NSW Farmers conference, a motion signifying a lack of resolve to support mandating pain relief for mulesing was carried.

“AWO1 provides support for pain relief provision in line with industry best practice, as no industry-led initiative for mandating pain relief when mulesing has been developed.”

NSW Farmers then said it believed market forces should decide whether pain relief is used for mulesing, and despite a 2023 survey indicating 95pc of NSW producers responding to a survey (see table below) used pain relief when mulesing, an unidentified NSW Farmers spokesperson said:

“NSW Farmers recognises consumer demands may influence on-farm practices in Australia; this is a production consideration for individual farmers.”