Merino sheeps are arguably one of the breeds of sheep exploited by the wool industry that suffer the most, due to their genetic abnormalities and the practices they are subjected to.
All suffering matters.
When questioning whether some individuals in a group suffer more than those in other groups, we must be mindful not to fall into the trap of speciesism; discriminating against someone for belonging to a particular group we label as “others”, such as belonging to a different species, race, gender, etc. Every instance of exploitation and harm is significant, and vegans, who should be taking a genuinely anti-speciesist stance, as this is one of the main axioms of veganism, should care for each individual who experiences pain, suffering, discrimination, or rights violations, regardless of the degree. It is not about ranking the harm they experience but about recognising and addressing harm wherever it occurs.
The cruel realities of the wool industry are felt by all sheeps (*we used sheeps as plural as we are writing in veganised language), in every nation and climate, regardless of their breed. Whether in vast commercial operations or on smallholdings, the routine practices inflicted upon these gentle beings include forced separation from family, mutilations without adequate pain relief, and being slaughtered at a fraction of their potential lifespan. The core injustice remains: the commodification of sentient beings for their wool, without regard for their needs or preferences. The machinery of exploitation grinds equally across continents, revealing a global problem that cannot be excused by talk of “gentler” methods or “better” countries.
Nevertheless, if evidence emerges that certain breeds, or groups within a species, endure even more egregious suffering — however cautiously we must declare such findings, and always with the caveat that we can never be certain about the “amount” of suffering — this information should not be kept hidden. On the contrary, highlighting these extremes can serve as a powerful illustration of the inherent cruelty embedded in the very fabric of the animal exploitation industries. If a particular breed, for example, is repeatedly subjected to especially harsh conditions or mutilations, sharing this does not mean we minimise the suffering of others, but that we illuminate the depth of harm made possible when sentient lives are reduced to mere commodities.
Who Are the Merino Sheeps?
Between 11,000 and 9000 BCE, the peoples of Mesopotamia began to raise the descendants of wild mouflon selectively, gradually altering their genes over generations to make them produce more hair. That led to today’s breeds of domestic sheeps that grow dangerous amounts of hair that need to be cut off periodically. All the sheeps used in the wool industry are domesticated breeds, so they have been genetically modified in one way or another via artificial selection (where the farmer chooses which animal mates with whom based on the characteristics they want to preserve or enhance).
Merino sheeps are one (or several) of these domesticated breeds, and they are often considered the “premium” sheep of the wool industry, as they are genetically engineered by animal agriculture for their incredibly fine and dense fleece (which translates to lots of profit per sheep). Their origin traces back to the Iberian Peninsula, especially Spain, emerging as a distinct breed in the late Middle Ages. Settled merinos (estantes) had coarser wool in response to the harsher winter conditions, while the transient merinos (transhumantes) were moved to seasonal pastures throughout the year and so were bred to develop finer, softer wool. For centuries, their wool was tightly controlled as a Spanish monopoly, with exportation being a crime punishable by death. Eventually, through royal gifts and international exchanges, Merinos spread to many parts of the world, including France, Hungary, South Africa, New Zealand, and, most consequentially, Australia.
This breed comes in several variants — such as the Rambouillet and the Australian Merino — but all are known for exceptionally fine, crimped wool and often, highly wrinkled skin. Although originally adapted to semiarid climates and nomadic herding, Merino sheep today are exploited in environments far harsher than those of their ancestors — most notably in the scorched landscapes of Australia, which now produces more than half the world’s Merino wool. In 1797, the first merino sheep landed in Australia, and the first Australian-produced fleece was sold in England in 1807. By the late 19th century, wool had become Australia’s major export. Today, Australia, China, and New Zealand are some of the main exploiters of Merino sheeps for wool.
Why Merino Sheeps May Suffer More
Before looking at the plight of the Merino specifically, it’s important to recognise the suffering woven tightly into the existence of all domestic sheeps. Regardless of breed, these mammals endure rough handling and mutilations — from tail docking and castration to ear tagging without sufficient pain relief — by the wool and meat industries. Lambs are often taken from their mothers just days or weeks after birth, shattering familial bonds in the name of profit, and they suffer distress, pain, and even injury when sheared. When their productivity wanes, they’re slaughtered at a relatively young age — far short of their natural lifespan — depriving them of years they should have enjoyed in peace. Merino sheep suffer all these ordeals too, but it can be argued that they may, on average, suffer more because of the following additional aggravated factors:
- Engineered for Exploitation
Merino sheep have been selectively bred by animal agriculture over generations to have the thickest, densest coats of all sheep breeds. This so-called “improvement” is no gift to the animals themselves. It is a curse: the wool is so excessive that these sheeps are completely reliant on humans to shear them and keep them from being smothered by their own coats. Without regular shearing, Merinos can be immobilised, blinded, or even killed by the weight and heat of their wool. The excess of hair affects the mobility of the animals, who need to carry an average of 8 kg more weight (the record for the heaviest Merino sheep fleece is 41.1 kg, shorn from a young male named Chris in Canberra, Australia, in 2015). This excess hair may grow on their faces, impeding good vision, and can make it impossible for them to stand if they fall (which is not uncommon).
- Overheating and Heat Stress
In Australia, where Merino sheeps are especially prevalent, the intense heat and sun put these animals at high risk of overheating. Their unnaturally thick fleece acts like a mobile oven, especially when exposed to searing temperatures that often reach above 38°C. Heat stress in sheeps can cause rapid breathing, a dangerous rise in core temperature, reduced eating and drinking, and even death. Repeated exposure leads to chronic suffering as sheeps struggle to maintain thermal balance. Even in farms where the sheeps are sheared regularly, any day, hour, or minute they must wait for the next shearing time may be causing heat stress to the animals.
- The Agony of Mulesing
Perhaps the most notorious procedure inflicted primarily on Merino sheep is mulesing, a gruesome mutilation unique to the wool industry. Merinos’ wrinkled skin, engineered for more wool, traps urine and faeces, making them prime targets for flystrike (where blowfly larvae consume living flesh). In response, farmers remove large strips of skin from around the breech and tail area — typically without anaesthetic — causing immense pain and trauma to millions of lambs every year in Australia. Although now banned in New Zealand, mulesing is still legal and widespread in Australia, making Merinos there the most likely of all sheeps to endure this suffering. Numerous undercover investigations by the animal rights organisation PETA have exposed this violent practice. The combination of the Australian humid climate with the Merino’s wrinkled skin causes the retention of moisture, making them highly vulnerable to parasites. It was in the 1920s that John Mules invented mulesing (hence the name) in response to regular outbreaks of flystrike in Australia. The idea was that the resulting wound caused by cutting off strips of skin, when healed, creates an area of bare, stretched scar tissue with no folds or wrinkles to hold moisture and faeces, making it less likely to attract blowflies. In 2018-19, around 11 million Merino lambs were marked in Australia, with the majority of these lambs being mulesed. Mulesing causes lambs a great deal of pain (which can last from at least 48 hours up to several weeks), fear, and stress, and it’s currently still legal to carry out this procedure without any form of pain relief. Mulesed lambs will socialise less, lose weight in the first two weeks post-mulesing, and show behavioural indicators of pain. Although flystrike can be treated chemically, mulesing is still common in Australia.
When we stack on top of the universal harms faced by all domestic sheeps — ripped from their mothers, roughly handled as objects, and killed young — the Merino’s genetic burden and its associated mutilations magnify their suffering. Forced to survive in hot environments with bodies engineered for profit and subjected to uniquely cruel procedures, Merino sheeps endure a level of suffering other breeds may rarely reach. It is fair to conclude that Merino sheeps, on average, probably do suffer more than other domestic sheeps.
