Extensive sheep farming on upland and hill terrain presents unique welfare challenges including exposure, predation, lameness, and remote monitoring difficulties.
Extensive sheep systems expose animals to natural risks that intensive management largely eliminates. Neonatal lamb mortality from hypothermia, starvation, and predation is a persistent welfare challenge, particularly in upland environments. Lameness from footrot, foot scald, and CODD causes chronic pain and impairs grazing. Fly strike causes acute and severe suffering if not detected and treated promptly. The remoteness of hill farming operations means welfare problems may go undetected for days. Technology including GPS tracking, automated weighing, and remote camera monitoring is beginning to improve welfare oversight in extensive systems.