Industrial Animal Agriculture &
Farmed Animals’ Welfare
Sheep
Sheep are among the first animals to have been domesticated by humans. The history of the domestic sheep goes back to between 11,000 and 9,000 BC, and the domestication of the wild mouflon in ancient Mesopotamia.
Sheep are highly social animals, and like to be near to other sheep that they are familiar with. They can get very stressed if separated from their group (flock). Sheep appear to develop social hierarchies within their flocks, with some sheep more dominant than others.
Scientific evidence shows that sheep can form complex social relationships within their flocks, and have extremely good learning abilities and memories. One such study demonstrated that sheep can recognise up to 50 other sheep faces and remember them for at least two years.
Life expectancy in domestic sheep is around 9 years, although they can live up to 20 years.
An interesting paper on the intelligence, complexity and individuality of sheep can be found here.
Credit: Gabriela Penela / We Animals Media.
Sheep as a food source
According to Compassion in World Farming, over a billion sheep are farmed worldwide for their meat, milk and fleece. The greatest numbers are in Asia and Africa. Most sheep are farmed outdoors in intensive systems, with less than 1% kept in intensive systems. As the focus of this handbook is on industrialised animal agriculture, sheep farming will not be covered in detail. However, it is worth noting that a million individuals is still a significant number of sheep kept in intensive systems. As demand for meat increases and land for grazing becomes more scarce, it is likely that sheep will be increasingly raised in intensive systems.
These sheep are being raised indoors on a farm in Turkey. They must eat by placing their heads through locking stanchions - a stanchion is a device that locks loosely around the neck of an animal and limits forward and backward motion. The head space for each sheep is approximately 10 centimetres apart. The farm uses the stanchions to increase farm labour efficiency by medicating, milking, cleaning and shearing the sheep while they eat.
Credit: Deniz Tapkan Cengiz, We Animals Media.