SAC Research

The collection together of delegates from a range of backgrounds was exploited in a number of ways, one of which was to seek their views and attitudes towards sheep welfare issues using a short questionnaire.

As well as assessing welfare in general, the opportunity was taken to consider "footrot" in sheep as a specific entity, and one that is generally viewed as an important welfare concern.

One constraint in using footrot as a broad-brush term was that for some respondents it had a very specific meaning, while for others it implied any form of lameness.

Despite this, the questionnaire provided an interesting insight into attitudes – although numbers were limited it also indicated some interesting differences between the responses of the farmers and the veterinarians present. Full details of the analysis of the questionnaire appear in the proceedings.