Foot rot is one of the most painful and economically significant diseases in sheep, causing lameness that affects feeding, welfare, and productivity and requiring coordinated flock-level management.
Foot rot causes severe and chronic pain in affected sheep. The bacterial infection destroys hoof tissue, separating the horn from underlying soft tissue and creating foul-smelling necrotic lesions. Sheep with severe foot rot cannot bear full weight and adopt abnormal postures that cause secondary musculoskeletal problems. Grazing is impaired as animals cannot walk normally to pasture; body condition declines, reproduction is affected, and in severe cases animals are unable to stand. The contagious nature of the disease means that welfare impacts can spread rapidly through a flock if early cases are not detected and treated. Pain assessment using the Cambridge Foot Rot Scoring System provides an objective measure of severity. Foot rot is preventable through footbath management, vaccination, and prompt treatment; flocks managed with attention to early detection have substantially lower lameness prevalence.