Foot conditions are a leading cause of lameness and welfare loss in sheep. Footrot and scald are highly prevalent but largely preventable through good management, vaccination and early treatment.
Sheep lameness is a welfare emergency hiding in plain sight. Lame sheep experience chronic pain that reduces their ability to graze, compete for resources and care for lambs. The pain response in lame sheep has been validated using multiple assessment tools including the Sheep Grimace Scale and pressure mat analysis. Despite being painful and widespread, lameness is often under-treated in commercial flocks due to handling difficulties and labour costs of individual treatment. A systematic approach - early detection, rapid treatment, vaccination, footbath hygiene and culling of chronically lame animals - is both the welfare-appropriate and economically sensible response.