Sheep Lambing: Welfare Across a Critical Season

Lambing is the most welfare-intensive period in sheep farming, with significant risks to both ewes and lambs from dystocia, hypothermia, mismothering, and infectious disease — and equally significant opportunities for positive welfare intervention.

Key Facts

The UK sheep industry alone manages the births of approximately 14 million lambs annually across a compressed spring lambing period
Dystocia (difficult birth) affects approximately 5-10% of ewes and is the leading cause of perinatal lamb mortality and ewe welfare emergencies
Hypothermia kills an estimated 2.5 million lambs in the UK each year — the leading single cause of lamb mortality post-birth
Mismothering — where ewes fail to bond with their lambs — is more common in high-productivity breeds and indoor lambing systems
Adequate nutrition in the final third of pregnancy (flushing) dramatically reduces dystocia rates and improves lamb viability
Research shows that ewes prefer lambing in secluded locations — provision of individual lambing pens reduces mismothering and lamb mortality in indoor systems
Pain management for ewes undergoing assisted deliveries remains inconsistently applied, despite clear evidence that dystocia is painful

Welfare Considerations

Lambing represents both the highest welfare risk and the highest welfare intervention opportunity in the sheep farming calendar. A ewe in dystocia experiencing prolonged obstructed labour without assistance or analgesia is suffering acutely. A hypothermic lamb, its thermoregulatory capacity overwhelmed by cold and exhaustion, is in physiological crisis. Yet these welfare emergencies are often preventable or treatable with relatively modest management inputs: appropriate nutrition, lambing supervision, prompt assistance with dystocia, and hypothermia management protocols. The welfare of sheep at lambing is disproportionately dependent on shepherd skill, stockpersonship quality, and management investment — making training, resource allocation, and regulatory standards for lambing supervision crucial welfare levers.

What You Can Do

Support higher welfare sheep farming standards that include lambing supervision requirements and pain management protocols
Advocate for dystocia pain management to be treated as a clinical standard in sheep veterinary and farmer guidance
Support training programmes in sheep welfare and stockpersonship for farmers and farm workers
Choose lamb products from farms certified to higher welfare standards that address lambing season welfare
Engage with the evidence that improved lambing management reduces mortality and improves production — economic and welfare arguments align here
Support research into hypothermia prevention and treatment protocols accessible to farmers across diverse production systems