Lameness is endemic in UK sheep flocks with foot rot and white line disease being the most common causes, yet treatment rates and welfare outcomes vary enormously.
Lameness causes chronic pain that affects every aspect of a sheep's life including feeding, mobility, and maternal behaviour. Delayed treatment is common due to the labour required to catch individual animals in large flocks. Five-point plan farms with vaccination, prompt treatment, and culling of chronically lame animals achieve significant lameness reduction. Lameness scoring walks enable earlier detection and reduced duration of suffering.