Dairy sheep produce milk for distinctive cheeses including feta, pecorino, and manchego. Their welfare in commercial dairy settings involves species-specific considerations alongside the challenges shared with other dairy species.
Dairy sheep welfare shares the core challenges of all dairy species — reproductive management, maternal separation, and end-of-life welfare — while presenting species-specific considerations. Sheep are highly social, flock-oriented animals: isolation from the flock causes acute stress responses that individual-housed cattle or goats may not show to the same degree. Traditional Mediterranean sheep dairy systems, including some Greek feta production, use extensive grazing with more natural flock management that may achieve better welfare than intensive indoor systems. The lamb separation issue parallels dairy cattle: lambs removed shortly after birth cry and search for their mothers over several days. Welfare certification for sheep dairy is less developed than for cattle, creating an advocacy gap that welfare advocates in dairy policy can address.