Sheep

Sheep and lambs raised for meat

Since 2006-07, over 30 million sheep and lambs are slaughtered for human consumption each year in Australia.  There are over 60,000 sheep and lambs in the ACT (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 'Livestock' Year Book of Australia 2009-10). Sheep and lambs spend most of their life in paddocks, enduring extreme heat and drought to severe cold and wet conditions. These conditions perpetuate a range of ongoing health problems.  Research has shown that 10 million lambs die on Australian farms every year, for reasons such as starvation and exposure.  Millions of sheep also die each year in paddocks from hyperthermia, thirst, lambing difficulties, disease, and viral illnesses.

For more information about welfare issues for sheep in Australia, see here.