Hill and mountain livestock farming in harsh environments creates specific welfare challenges from cold stress, exposure, limited forage, and access to veterinary care.
Hill farming welfare involves an inherent tension between the environmental value of extensive upland farming and the welfare challenges it creates. Low-intensity grazing maintains moorland biodiversity but also maintains animals in conditions where welfare monitoring and intervention are difficult. Animals that become lame, injured, or ill on open hill ground may suffer for extended periods before discovery. The welfare case for adequate checking frequencies, sufficient gathering for preventive treatment, and provision of winter shelter where feasible is strong. As agri-environment schemes increasingly attach welfare conditions to subsidy payments, hill farming welfare is gradually improving.