Footrot causes severe lameness in sheep worldwide. Effective vaccination, footbathing, and treatment protocols dramatically reduce its prevalence and the chronic pain it causes.
Footrot is a painful lameness that profoundly compromises sheep welfare at flock scale. Affected sheep cannot graze normally, lose body condition, and in breeding ewes, show reduced mothering behaviour and milk production affecting lamb survival. The duration of lameness without treatment can extend to weeks, creating a sustained welfare harm that affects the animal throughout the grazing season. High footrot prevalence — common in wet climates and poorly managed flocks — means large numbers of sheep may be simultaneously suffering. Prevention through vaccination and footbathing management is the most welfare-positive approach, avoiding pain before it occurs. Treatment protocols requiring prompt individual case identification and antibiotic therapy are the welfare backstop when prevention fails.