Sheep welfare spans multiple production systems including wool, meat, and dairy. Key welfare issues include mulesing, lambing losses, and the welfare implications of different pasture management approaches.
Sheep welfare challenges are diverse across production contexts. Mulesing causes acute pain without analgesia and has been largely phased out in New Zealand while remaining common in Australia. Neonatal lamb mortality represents preventable suffering at significant scale. Wool sheep require regular shearing as a welfare necessity but shearing is also associated with stress and sometimes injury. Pasture access generally improves sheep welfare compared to intensive systems, but pasture management quality varies widely.