Sheep are extreme prey animals whose pain concealment makes welfare assessment and treatment more challenging than for less stoic species.
The stronger the prey animal instinct, the better the pain concealment — and sheep are exceptionally stoic. A sheep that displays obvious pain is severely compromised. This means that relying on behavioral observation alone for pain detection misses animals in significant pain. Validated assessment tools and regular monitoring provide the only reliable route to identifying and treating pain before it reaches severe stages.