Foot rot is one of the most painful and common conditions affecting sheep worldwide, causing chronic lameness that significantly impairs animal welfare.
Chronic lameness is one of the most significant welfare problems in sheep farming. Foot rot causes intense pain - affected sheep walk on their knees to avoid bearing weight, or lie down continuously rather than graze. In flocks with high lameness prevalence, the cumulative suffering is enormous. The challenge is that foot rot is often under-recognized because sheep stoically mask pain and farmers may normalize high lameness levels as inevitable. Welfare-focused management combines vaccination, regular foot inspection, prompt treatment of affected animals and footbathing to break transmission cycles. Eradication is achievable in closed flocks with sustained effort and dramatically improves sheep welfare.