Sheep Welfare in Extensive Systems: Challenges in Vast Landscapes

Extensive sheep farming across large ranges poses unique welfare challenges — monitoring is difficult, disease detection is delayed, and conditions that would be addressed quickly in intensive systems go unrecognized.

Key Facts

Approximately 1 billion sheep are farmed globally with extensive rangeland systems dominating in Australia, New Zealand, and parts of Africa
Fly strike — blowfly larvae infesting skin wounds — causes extreme suffering and can kill sheep within days if untreated
Internal parasite burdens cause chronic suffering, malnutrition, and death in poorly managed sheep flocks
Lameness affects 5-10% of ewes in many UK flocks, caused by footrot and foot abscess with significant pain
Mulesing — removing skin from the hindquarters to prevent fly strike — is practiced on millions of Australian sheep annually despite causing acute pain
Remote monitoring technology including GPS collars and drone surveillance is improving welfare detection on extensive properties

Welfare Considerations

Extensive sheep farming creates a surveillance challenge — animals spread across vast areas cannot be individually observed daily. This means disease, injury, and suffering often progress further before detection and treatment than in intensive systems. Fly strike can cause horrific suffering over days in sheep that cannot be reached quickly enough for treatment. Improving welfare in extensive systems requires technological solutions for monitoring, investment in preventive health programs, and realistic staffing ratios that allow adequate observation. The alternative — current systems where significant suffering goes undetected — is not ethically acceptable.

What You Can Do

Support welfare standards that include minimum observation frequency requirements for extensive flocks
Choose wool and lamb products from operations with documented welfare monitoring protocols
Advocate for pain relief requirements when mulesing continues as a fly strike prevention practice
Support research into non-surgical alternatives to mulesing that prevent fly strike
Learn about internal parasite management strategies that maintain sheep health without welfare compromise