The wool industry says it has found a solution to the great mulesing controversy - using clips to keep flies at bay.
A trial involving more than 1,400 lambs has found they are happier and healthier when the clips are used instead of mulesing.
And while the clips are slightly less effective at preventing flystrike than mulesing, the difference is minor and other measures can be used to bolster the use of clips, the study found.
Mulesing is the cutting away of skin from around a lamb's hindquarters to prevent flystrike.
The practice - which Australia has promised to end in 2010 - is considered cruel by animal welfare groups, who have persuaded international fashion houses to boycott Australian wool from mulesed flocks.
One alternative is the attachment of clips to the loose folds of skin around the sheep's rear, which causes the skin to die and fall off.
Brian van Rooyen, chairman of Australian Wool Innovation, which is conducting the trial, said the results showed clips were a viable alternative to mulesing.
"It's clear from the results that clips will prove to be an important flystrike management tool for a large proportion of Australian woolgrowers from 2009 onwards," Mr van Rooyen said.
The trial has seen lambs clipped, mulesed or left untreated at properties in South Australia, Victoria and NSW.
After three months researchers measured the lambs for flystrike, survival, and weight gain.
The study found clipped lambs suffered less pain and stress than mulesed lambs, were more likely to survive, and gained more weight.
But mulesed lambs were slightly less likely to become flystruck. For each 100 lambs, one more would become flystruck in the clipped flock compared to the mulesed flock.
Some animal welfare groups also oppose the use of clips to prevent flystrike.
