Footrot is a major cause of lameness in sheep, requiring integrated control strategies combining treatment, culling, and biosecurity.
Footrot causes intense pain that significantly impairs mobility and grazing. Affected sheep lose condition rapidly as they cannot travel to feed. The frustrating aspect of footrot control is the persistence of subclinical carrier animals that maintain infection pressure in a flock. Systematic carrier identification and culling, though economically difficult, is the most welfare-effective long-term approach.