Research has revealed that sheep have sophisticated cognitive abilities including face recognition, emotional contagion, and long-term memory. This science has important implications for how we understand and improve sheep welfare.
The cognitive sophistication of sheep has been systematically underestimated. Research by Keith Kendrick and colleagues has shown sheep have face recognition abilities comparable to humans, form long-term social bonds, and show signs of grief when companions are removed. Their complexity means that welfare harms - including social separation, painful procedures, and chronic illness - have richer subjective experiences than previously thought. Welfare improvements including maintaining social bonds, pain relief for all procedures, and enriched environments have more impact on cognitive animals than simple models suggest.