ABSTRACT
In many sheep-producing countries, ewes are grazed in large flocks and often in semiextensive or extensive pastoral production systems. It is relatively uncommon for ewes to be individually identified or regularly tallied and this means that, coupled with the relatively low economic value of adult ewes, health or production problems may go unnoticed for some time. This is particularly the case if only a small proportion of the flock are affected. For sheep in extensive systems, the major welfare issues are associated with environment, weather and large flocks with a high sheep-to-human ratio (Stafford, 2013).
