Sheep in extensive grazing systems face welfare challenges that often go undetected due to the difficulty of monitoring large flocks across wide areas and the stoic nature of the species.
Sheep welfare in extensive systems is challenged by scale, stoicism, and under-investment in veterinary care relative to other livestock species. Large flocks grazing wide areas cannot be individually monitored with the frequency needed to detect early welfare problems, and sheep behavioral pain suppression means that observable welfare problems are typically advanced by the time they are noticed. The welfare reform agenda for sheep focuses on several evidence-based priorities: lameness reduction through proactive footbath programs, prompt treatment protocols, and vaccination against footrot; internal parasite management through FAMACHA assessment and targeted rather than blanket anthelmintic treatment; and mandatory pain relief for all surgical procedures including mulesing. The mulesing debate is particularly significant: this widespread practice causes acute and chronic pain and is opposed by most animal welfare organizations, yet the alternative — flystrike — is also a severe welfare problem, making the solution more complex than simple prohibition.