Pneumonia is a significant cause of sheep welfare compromise and mortality. Understanding the multifactorial causes and prevention strategies improves flock health and welfare.
Pneumonia causes acute suffering in affected sheep through breathing difficulty, fever, and systemic illness. Chronic enzootic pneumonia in lambs causes persistent respiratory compromise that impairs growth and welfare across the production period. The stress-driven nature of many outbreaks means respiratory disease often follows predictably stressful management events. Implementing low-stress management practices reduces disease incidence while improving baseline welfare. The high prevalence of subclinical lung pathology at slaughter in many flocks suggests that respiratory welfare problems are substantially underrecognized in living animals.