Foot lameness is the most common welfare and production problem in UK sheep, affecting millions of animals annually with painful conditions that are preventable and treatable.
Sheep foot health represents one of the most practically addressable welfare problems in UK agriculture. The five-point plan — treat promptly, do not foot trim footrot lesions, use antibiotics judiciously, cull chronic cases, vaccinate — has been validated to reduce prevalence dramatically and is available free to all sheep producers. The welfare barrier is not knowledge but implementation: large flocks of extensively managed sheep are inherently difficult to monitor closely. Smaller, more intensively managed flocks consistently achieve lower lameness prevalence. Regular, systematic lameness scoring — not just treating obviously lame animals — is the practice that makes the difference.