Sheep dipping with organophosphate compounds poses welfare risks to sheep through chemical stress, drowning risk and post-dip disease, as well as significant health risks to farm workers.
Sheep that are incorrectly dipped experience chemical toxicity causing nervous system effects including ataxia and distress. Dipping in cold conditions increases hypothermia risk in recently shorn sheep. The replacement of dipping with injectable and pour-on treatments has substantially reduced these welfare risks. Sheep with untreated scab experience intense pruritus from mite feeding causing skin damage, weight loss and debilitation.