Sheep Hill Farming and Extensive System Welfare

Extensive sheep farming on uplands provides animals with natural behaviours but also presents unique welfare challenges requiring competent management.

Key Facts

Hill sheep graze large areas with limited direct human supervision
Extreme weather causes significant mortality in outdoor systems
Lambing outdoors exposes ewes and lambs to predation and weather risk
Nutritional deficiencies are common in sheep on marginal grazing land
Parasite management is complex in extensive systems without easy access
Foot rot affects many extensively kept sheep requiring prompt treatment

Welfare Considerations

Extensive sheep farming occupies a complex welfare position - animals have freedom of movement and natural behaviour but also face welfare risks that intensive systems buffer. Exposure to weather extremes, predation, nutritional deficiency and parasites requires competent monitoring despite lower human contact frequency. Good welfare in extensive systems requires appropriate stocking density, nutrition supplementation during key periods, and regular enough inspection to identify and treat problems promptly.

What You Can Do

Support farming subsidy schemes rewarding welfare outcomes in extensive systems
Choose lamb from farms with credible welfare monitoring standards
Advocate for adequate inspection requirements even in extensive farming
Support research into challenges unique to extensive sheep welfare