Over one billion sheep are farmed globally for meat, wool, and dairy. Despite their stoic reputation, sheep are sentient animals with complex social and cognitive lives that deserve welfare consideration.
Sheep welfare suffers from the widespread perception that these stoic animals do not feel pain intensely. Research comprehensively refutes this: sheep show facial pain expressions, cortisol elevation, and behavioral changes in response to painful procedures identical to other mammals. Lameness causes chronic suffering that impairs grazing, movement, and social interaction. The treatment gap is large — many farmers fail to identify or treat lame sheep promptly. Mulesing without analgesia causes acute and prolonged pain and is the subject of ongoing industry reform pressure. Alternative flystrike prevention methods exist — selective breeding for bare breech (Merinos), chemical preventives, and regular inspection — reducing reliance on mulesing. Neonatal lamb welfare requires adequate shelter, colostrum intake monitoring, and prompt intervention for orphaned or rejected lambs.