From the ABC, article by Selina Green, 04 September. Photo: Prue Adams

Millions of sterile flies to be released on Kangaroo Island in plan to end flystrike

A world-first facility has opened on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island to try and eradicate a condition that costs the Australian sheep industry almost $300 million a year. 

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) facility will breed and release millions of sterile sheep blowflies, with the goal of fully eradicating sheep flystrike from the island.

The facility can then be replicated elsewhere around Australia.

Flystrike occurs when Australian blowflies bite the skin and lay eggs in the wool around a sheep’s backside, the eggs hatch, and the resulting larvae feed off the irritated skin.

Sheep often suffer pain and sometimes death.

Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said the new facility would produce up to 50 million sterile flies every week when fully operational.

“It’s not a full capacity yet, but it will be releasing the first flies this month,” she said.

“These are sterile male [flies] and when they mate with the females, there are no eggs produced and so it’s a way of really interacting with the wild flies to be able to reduce and hopefully eliminate sheep blow fly from Kangaroo Island.”