Body condition scoring in sheep is a simple but powerful welfare tool that identifies nutritional stress and enables timely intervention to prevent suffering.
Body condition scoring is one of the most cost-effective welfare monitoring tools available to sheep farmers. Thin ewes suffer multiple welfare insults simultaneously: they are cold, hungry, immunocompromised and at high risk of metabolic disease. Pregnancy toxaemia (twin lamb disease) in thin ewes causes seizures and death. Despite the simplicity and value of BCS, surveys consistently show significant proportions of commercial flocks at suboptimal condition, particularly entering winter. This reflects systemic under-resourcing of sheep welfare monitoring. Farm assurance schemes that require BCS records and set minimum standards can drive substantial welfare improvements. Early intervention when BCS drops is far more effective than attempting to correct severe condition loss in late pregnancy.