Sheep Foot Health: Preventing and Managing Footrot and Lameness

Lameness is one of the most prevalent and painful conditions in sheep worldwide. Effective prevention and management programs can dramatically reduce suffering at the flock level.

Key Facts

Footrot affects up to 10% of sheep in affected flocks and causes severe lameness
Each lame sheep experiences weeks to months of chronic pain without treatment
Effective footrot control programs can achieve near-eradication at the flock level
CODD (Contagious Ovine Digital Dermatitis) is an emerging and more severe foot disease
Prompt treatment within 3 days of lameness onset dramatically improves outcomes

Welfare Considerations

Sheep lameness is pervasive, painful, and often undertreated. Research confirms that lame sheep experience pain equivalent to human sufferers of moderate to severe musculoskeletal conditions. Footrot causes tissue destruction and chronic pain; CODD can cause hoof loss in severe cases. Despite effective vaccines, antibiotics, and biosecurity protocols existing for footrot control, many flocks carry endemic disease at welfare-unacceptable levels. The Five-Point Footrot Plan — a structured management protocol — has enabled many flocks to achieve eradication, demonstrating that welfare improvement at scale is achievable.

What You Can Do

Support lamb and wool producers with documented lameness monitoring programs
Advocate for lameness scoring and treatment protocols in sheep welfare standards
Reduce lamb and wool consumption to lower demand from low-welfare production systems
Support research into CODD prevention and treatment
Donate to veterinary organizations providing foothealth training to sheep farmers