Lameness is the most common welfare problem in sheep, affecting millions of animals annually, with evidence-based treatment and prevention able to dramatically reduce suffering.
Sheep lameness represents the most significant chronic welfare burden in sheep farming given its high prevalence and the prolonged pain suffered by untreated animals. The emphasis in traditional management on allowing lameness to self-resolve or treating only severely affected animals leaves many sheep experiencing weeks of pain from conditions that respond rapidly to early antibiotic treatment. Regular flock lameness scoring combined with the five-point plan approach of early treatment, vaccination, and culling of non-responders has demonstrated dramatic welfare improvement on farms that implement it consistently.