Evaluating the welfare of extensively managed sheep

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Veterinary Medicine
• Agricultural Science

Background:

• Extensive sheep farming systems present unique on-farm animal welfare challenges.
• Monitoring sheep welfare is crucial for maintaining flock health and productivity.
• Identifying prevalent welfare issues informs targeted management strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key on-farm welfare issues in extensive sheep farming systems in Victoria, Australia.
• To assess the welfare status of commercial ewe flocks using multiple animal-based indicators.
• To provide data for future sheep welfare benchmarking and improvement programs.

Main Methods:

• Surveyed 32 commercial sheep farms in Victoria, Australia, conducting 62 visits.
• Examined 6,200 ewes (aged 2-5 years) using six indicators: body condition score (BCS), fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score, and lameness.
• Utilized generalized linear mixed models to analyze associations between welfare outcomes and farm-specific factors.

Main Results:

• Overall ewe flock welfare was considered good, with high percentages in adequate BCS (86.9%) and good fleece condition (91%).
• Prevalent welfare concern identified was short tail length (85.7% docked shorter than the third palpable joint).
• 3.0% of ewes required further care, primarily due to severe lameness, low BCS, or skin conditions like dermatophilosis.

Conclusions:

• Extensive sheep farming in Australia shows generally good flock welfare, but specific issues like tail docking length require attention.
• The study provides valuable insights into prevalent sheep welfare issues and establishes benchmarks for future assessments.
• Development of practical technologies for detecting welfare issues and utilizing identified thresholds for benchmarking are recommended.