Sheep welfare assessment relies on a combination of resource-based and animal-based indicators, with lameness, body condition, and respiratory health serving as key measures of flock welfare status.
Sheep welfare is shaped by the combination of prey animal stoicism (which masks suffering until severe) and the extensive management systems where individual monitoring is challenging. Lameness is the paradigm case: studies show farmers systematically underestimate lameness prevalence in their flocks when compared to observer-based assessment, because lame sheep continue moving with the flock rather than isolating. Welfare-progressive sheep management uses regular structured scoring, prompt treatment protocols (the 3-day rule in the UK: treat within 3 days of identification), and lameness prevalence tracking as a key management metric. Reducing lameness is simultaneously a welfare and economic priority.