Sheep Lambing Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Lambing is one of the most welfare-intensive periods in sheep management, with risks including dystocia, hypothermia, starvation, and maternal rejection causing significant suffering.

Key Facts

Dystocia (difficult birth) affects approximately 5% of ewes and causes pain, injury, and sometimes death
Hypothermia is the leading cause of lamb mortality — lambs must receive colostrum within 6 hours of birth
Assisted lambings without proper technique can cause injury to both ewe and lamb
Mismatching — where ewes reject lambs — causes hunger and distress in rejected lambs
Indoor lambing allows closer monitoring but requires high management skill to prevent disease and ensure individual care

Welfare Considerations

Lambing represents an intense welfare management challenge. Dystocia causes prolonged pain and injury; hypothermic lambs suffer cold stress and may die without intervention; rejection causes acute hunger and distress in lambs. The quality of human management during lambing has enormous influence on welfare outcomes. Trained stockpeople who recognise signs of difficulty and intervene appropriately — with proper technique and pain relief — prevent much suffering. High standards of lambing management are a skill that requires training, mentorship, and commitment to individual animal welfare during an intense production period.

What You Can Do

Support training programmes for sheep farmers in lambing welfare including dystocia management
Advocate for pain relief requirements during assisted lambings
Choose lamb from farms with documented high lambing welfare management standards
Support research into better detection and management of dystocia risk factors
Engage with lambing welfare as a high-priority window for welfare improvement in sheep farming