The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit

The evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit must be relevant to workplace operations and satisfy all of the requirements of the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge and the range statement of this unit. Assessors should ensure that candidates can:

assess alternative strategies and confirm key indicators for the use of mulesing

understand optimal conditions for carrying out mulesing procedures

conduct pre-operative evaluation of lambs submitted for mulesing procedures and risk assessment in consultation with sheep manager

prepare appropriate sites, facilities and equipment in line with infection control, workplace health and safety and animal welfare standards including pain management in accordance with industry best standards and legislative requirements

follow low stress stock mustering, movement and handling procedures

carry out mulesing operations in accordance with industry recognised best practice mulesing techniques and hygiene standards

follow appropriate procedures and label directions to provide pain relief plus insecticide dressing as required

monitor animals' behaviour post-mulesing for health and well-being including the ability to recognise signs of post-mulesing complications

communicate post-mulesing management requirements to sheep manager

accurately document and maintain appropriate records

The skills and knowledge required to plan, prepare and conduct mulesing procedures must be transferable to a range of work environments and contexts and include the ability to deal with unplanned events.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment for this unit is to be practical in nature and must be assessed in an on-farm workplace situation with access to the appropriate stock, facilities and equipment to enable one to demonstrate competence consistently over time.

Method of assessment

To ensure consistency of performance, competency must be demonstrated, to industry recognised mulesing standards, covering a range of lambs with differing amounts of wrinkle whilst operating at commercial speed. Assessment must take into account the type of sheep, the acceptable mulesing method practiced in the local area and the environment of the area to tailor the degree of mulesing required and only remove minimum required wool-bearing skin. Competency must also be demonstrated in equipment preparation including assessment of setting and sharpness of mulesing shears and application of pain relief.

Assessment must take place over a period of time in order to cover a variety of circumstances, cases and responsibilities. The assessment strategies must include practical skills assessment. Suggested strategies for this unit are:

written and/or oral assessment of candidate's required knowledge

observed, documented and firsthand testimonial evidence of candidate's application of practical tasks

portfolio records that provide evidence of practical skills

This unit may be assessed in a holistic way with other units of competency relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role.

Guidance information for assessment

Assessment methods should reflect workplace demands (e.g. literacy and numeracy demands) and the needs of particular target groups (e.g. people with disabilities, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with a language background other than English, youth and people from low socioeconomic backgrounds).

This section describes the skills and knowledge required for this unit

Required skills include:

Ability to:

apply interpersonal skills to work with and relate to people from a range of cultural, social and religious backgrounds and with a range of physical and mental abilities

clean, disinfect and maintain equipment to ensure efficient and safe working standards

communicate effectively with others, including questioning, active listening, asking for clarification and consulting with or seeking advice as required

comply with animal welfare legislation, animal care standards and guidelines, State and Territory veterinary surgeons or practitioners legislation and regulations and relevant codes of conduct and workplace health and safety legislation

conduct pre-operational checks of pain relief and/or insecticide application equipment

employ safe, humane and environmentally responsible systems and procedures when working with and handling livestock

follow sequenced written instructions

record information collected accurately and legibly

maintain the highest standards of hygiene and infection control at all times to reduce the risk of infection and cross-infection

consider infectious, zoonotic and exotic disease possibilities (biosecurity)

operate equipment effectively and with due consideration to the potential hazards associated with using equipment on lambs

use numeracy skills to estimate, calculate and record routine workplace measures

use safe manual handling techniques and equipment

use safe, hygienic and environmentally friendly waste handling and disposal procedures

work as a member of a team

Required knowledge includes:

Knowledge of:

alternative strategies available to manage flystrike susceptibility

body condition score (BCS) or Fat score (FS) system for sheep

breech wrinkle score system (BRWR) for lambs and sheep

breech cover score (BCOV) for lambs and sheep

chemical label and relevant Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) formats

grazing industry biosecurity manual and related strategies

industry recognised best practice mulesing technique

meteorological and other conditions and impacts on safe and effective mulesing operations

most recent Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines

relevant legislation, regulations and codes of practice, including those relating to workplace health and safety, animal welfare, veterinary practitioner/surgeons’ Acts, stock diseases and waste disposal, agricultural and veterinary chemical use

relevant state or territory legislation covering the use of therapeutic and controlled substances

principles of animal welfare

registered chemical products available for application to the mulesing wound

workplace hygiene standards (biosecurity) including: disinfectants, cleaning agents and techniques, cleaning and appropriate disinfection of equipment and materials

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Alternative strategies to manage flystrike susceptibility may include:

flock husbandry practices, for example:

timing of lambing, crutching and shearing

good worm control

breech clips

culling sheep with high wrinkle scores

culling of previously struck sheep

tail docking at an appropriate length

management of dag and stain on lambs

chemical and non-chemical pest management

paddock grazing management

enhanced breeding for flystrike resistance

selection for resistant conformation

selection of replacement sheep with tail length and/or breech modification which will minimise susceptibility to flystrike

consider removing skin from the tail and not the breach of the sheep where conformation of the sheep means that this would achieve sufficient protection from flystrike

Key indicators for use of mulesing may include:

property where stock are farmed is regularly subject to a high risk of breech flystrike

sheep have significant wrinkle (BRWR) or wool cover (BCOV) in breech area

risk of dags

lambs to be mulesed are intended to be farmed as adult sheep and satisfy the above criteria

Pre-operative evaluation of sheep may include:

optimal seasonal conditions and age when lambs should be mulesed

ensuring sheep are healthy and in the best condition possible, for example:

showing sound BCS (weak lambs or lambs suffering from severe disease should not be mulesed)

free from diarrhoea, dags and grass seeds

availability of good nutritional feed

considering past experience on the individual property

Risks associated with mulesing procedures may include:

animals with poor BCS

risk of post-operative tetanus

extreme environmental conditions, for example: heat, cold, rain

operator limitations for example: fatigue, lack of experience

poor equipment, yards and other necessary infrastructure

Where such risks exist, it is recommended that the overall risks be assessed and risk mitigation put in place in the interests of animal welfare. In some cases the situation will be significant enough to be unmanageable and require deferral of the procedure.

Weather conditions

Weather conditions for operations should be a fine, mild day.

Weather conditions to be avoided include:

cold weather conditions which place additional stress on lambs

wet or dusty conditions which increase the risk of wound contamination

windy conditions that increase the chill factor and may interfere with mothering up

excessively hot conditions which can increase bleeding and stress on lambs

warm, humid and showery conditions which are ideal for sheep blowfly activity

Consideration of ongoing weather conditions during the recovery phase is required.

Yards, paddocks and pastures considerations may include:

using temporary yards to reduce the distance sheep have to travel before and after mulesing

setting up yards on clean, well-drained areas in the paddock

avoiding muddy, manure-laden and dry, dusty areas

arranging yards to include pre-operative holding and work areas

ensuring holding paddock is free of contamination hazards, has sufficient water and provides adequate shelter

property has a well-planned animal health and vaccination program

Equipment may include:

cradles

mulesing shears

containers for wash-down, soaking and disinfecting (stainless steel recommended)

registered disinfectant solutions

sharpening equipment, jigs and stones

chemical application equipment

chemical treatments including pain relief product stored appropriately and use by dates adhered to

back up systems and equipment

Cradles may include:

a single cradle

sets of cradles mounted on a steel yard panel

sets of cradles mounted on a rotating frame

Cradles must be well-maintained to prevent injury to sheep and operator and must be designed to:

hold the lamb securely in a symmetrical position

position the hind legs close enough together so that folds of skin can easily be picked up

expose the rear end of the lamb in a more horizontal than vertical position

release the lamb on its feet to prevent contact of the wound with the ground to prevent contamination

enable effective cleaning and disinfection

workplace health and safety standards may include:

applying appropriate manual handling techniques when handling loads, including livestock and equipment

following safe operating procedures for:

cleaning, disinfecting and sharpening instruments

following personal and workplace hygiene procedures

hazard identification and risk minimisation:

handling, use, storage, transport and disposal of chemicals

handling and disposal of biological wastes

livestock catching, handling, controlling and restraining methods

avoiding risk of self injection with Gudair vaccine

using materials and equipment in accordance with manufacturers’ instructions

using infection control procedures to minimise risks associated with:

infectious and zoonotic diseases

release of infective agents (both animal and human)

chemical spillage

using personal protective equipment (PPE) including:

clothing of a protective nature

eye and ear protection

masks for the protection of the respiratory system

gloves

items for sun and other protection

safety footwear and leg protection

Animal welfareconsiderations may include:

providing pain relief

complying with current relevant legislation, regulations concerned with:

animal welfare (eg. the most recent Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines)

the prevention of cruelty to animals

adopting best practice recommendations as relevant in the most recent Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines and in industry documents such as:

industry codes of practice

industry standards and protocols

A high standard of hygiene will require:

equipment to be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before initial use and each time they are changed for cleaning and sharpening

registered disinfectant to be used in accordance to label instructions (MSDS)

disinfecting mulesing shears between each animal procedure

appropriate reprocessing of reusable equipment

personal hygiene practices especially washing and drying hands (e.g. before and after animal contact)

avoidance of wound contact by the operator and with applicators when applying pain relief and fly prevention chemicals

appropriate application of fly prevention chemicals (wool areas only) and pain relief products (wound area only)

safe handling and disposal of clinical, related and general waste

surface cleaning and management of blood and bodily fluid spills

techniques to limit contamination

use of personal protective equipment

Mulesing techniques include:

knowledge of the type of sheep, the environment of the area and only removing the minimum required wool bearing skin

appropriate tail length in accordance with industry standard

not cutting through the selvage (muscle fascia) or underlying muscle or bone

not removing or cutting bare skin

symmetry

leaving a ‘V’ of wool-bearing skin between one-third to two-thirds of the length of the docked tail

ensuring the stretching and size of the resulting wrinkle-free bare area is proportional to the wound size

post-operative application of topical pain relief to entire wound plus insecticide to nearby wool-bearing skin as required

Post-mulesing management requirements include:

observing lambs for 24 hours to ensure all lambs well-mothered

recognising signs of post-mulesing complications including infection, septicaemia

ensuring lambs are not disturbed, mustered or handled for at least four weeks after mulesing unless urgent intervention is required to assist wound healing

observing lambs, without disturbance, at least every three days during the healing process to check for flystrike or other adverse reactions

providing immediate treatment to lambs that are abandoned and/or unable to stand up and walk

Documentation and records may include:

chemical usage data

vaccination history of the flock

evidence of the use of pain relief that can be provided to Wool Broker, Australian Wool Exchange (AWEX) for the National Wool Declaration (NWD) records (voluntary)

Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDSs)

records of post-mulesing complications