Sheep welfare assessment has lagged behind cattle and pig standards. Outcome-based indicators at farm level and slaughter are increasingly used to identify systemic welfare problems.
Sheep welfare assessment on-farm requires stockpersons who can recognise subtle signs of pain and illness. The stoic nature of sheep means problems are often detected late. Slaughter plant data provides a unique window into flock-level welfare problems — abscesses, respiratory lesions and lameness recorded at slaughter can be traced back to the farm of origin, enabling targeted intervention. Foot health management is the single area with the greatest welfare impact on most sheep farms.