Industry overhauls sheep lameness plan after 15 years

Rising cases of contagious ovine digital dermatitis have intensified pressure for a more practical approach to controlling sheep lameness.

The industry’s Five Point Plan is being updated 15 years after its launch to reflect new research, changing disease pressures and the realities facing commercial flocks.

The 18-month project is funded through the Farming Innovation Programme’s ADOPT initiative and delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with Defra.

It will revise the existing framework, create free resources for farmers and vets, and explore whether smartphone video and artificial intelligence could help identify lame sheep.

Contagious ovine digital dermatitis, known as CODD, is an infectious foot disease that can cause severe pain and lameness.

It typically begins around the coronary band, where the skin meets the top of the hoof, before spreading beneath the hoof horn. In advanced cases, the hoof capsule can become detached.

The original Five Point Plan was launched by Dr Ruth Clements in 2011 and was credited with helping reduce national sheep lameness levels to below 5%.

Its measures include prompt treatment, culling persistently lame sheep, quarantining incoming animals, preventing disease spread and vaccination with Footvax.

However, growing CODD pressure and inconsistent adoption of all five measures have highlighted the need for updated guidance.

Dr Clements is working with Devon sheep farmers Bryan and Liz Griffiths, who are chairing and managing the project.

The team has consulted farmers, vets and industry organisations across Great Britain to understand current disease challenges and the practical and behavioural barriers affecting uptake.

Its work has also included a review of 15 years of research and scientific evidence on sheep lameness.

The findings will shape a revised plan with greater emphasis on CODD and measures that can be applied more easily across commercial sheep systems.

Bryan Griffiths said: “Lameness remains one of the biggest challenges facing sheep farmers.”

He added: “The Five Point Plan has delivered real impact, but it now needs updating to reflect current disease pressures and ensure it is practical and easy to adopt on farm.”

Dr Clements said understanding of sheep lameness and farmer decision-making had developed significantly since the plan was introduced.

“Since 2011, we’ve gained a much better understanding of sheep lameness, particularly CODD, and of the factors that influence how and why farmers adopt best practice,” she said.

“This refresh brings that together into an updated, practical and evidence-based plan for the future.”

Lameness remains a major health, welfare and productivity problem for the UK sheep sector, with footrot and CODD among its principal causes.

It can reduce fertility, slow lamb growth and weaken flock performance, while increasing labour, treatment requirements and antibiotic use.

The project will also assess whether an AI-based smartphone tool could detect signs of lameness from video footage.

The technology remains at an exploratory stage, with no finished tool yet confirmed for launch.

Free supporting materials for farmers and vets will be made available through a central online hub.

The revised Five Point Plan is expected to launch later this autumn and will support the wider aims of the Animal Health and Welfare Pathway.