Internal parasite burdens are a major cause of suffering and production loss in sheep, with strategic rather than routine anthelmintic treatment being both a welfare improvement and an antiparasitic resistance management strategy.
Sheep parasite welfare is a case where good science, animal welfare, and antiparasitic stewardship align perfectly. Routine anthelmintic treatment that fails to prevent resistance build-up ultimately leads to treatment failure and increased parasite burden — worse welfare than strategic treatment that maintains drug efficacy. FAMACHA-guided targeted treatment ensures that the most severely affected animals receive treatment promptly while avoiding unnecessary treatment of animals with adequate resistance. This approach simultaneously reduces suffering in the most affected individuals, maintains drug efficacy, and reduces the pharmaceutical burden on the rest of the flock. Strategic parasite management is therefore both the welfare-positive and the scientifically sound approach.