Duncan Sinclair, MSD Animal Health

Five Point Plan Cuts Sheep Lameness By Over Two-Thirds, New Data Shows

5 days ago
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Posted
29th June, 2026 10h35

Author
MSD Animal Health

Lameness assessment results conducted across more than 21,000 sheep have found that full implementation of the industry’s Five Point Plan can reduce lameness levels by over two-thirds in affected flocks.

Findings from 83 on-farm assessments across 24 farms, conducted by MSD Animal Health, showed lameness reductions of 57% to 67% when all five elements of the plan were followed.

The Five Point Plan On-Farm Planner is a flock health tool designed to help farmers and their animal health advisers assess and improve lameness control. It focuses on five areas: vaccinate, avoid, treat, quarantine and cull.

Based on data collected between 2021 and 2024¹, farms that implemented targeted improvements identified through the planner recorded an average 63% reduction in lameness. Average scores improved from 13.4 to 22.9 out of 25, a gain of 9.5 points.

The findings highlight use of the Five Point Plan can help farmers move towards the Farm Animal Welfare Committee target of reducing lameness to 2% or less.

Sheep lameness, driven mainly by infectious diseases such as footrot, scald and CODD, remains a major UK flock health challenge. It causes significant pain, reduces productivity and costs the industry millions annually in lost output, treatment, labour and culling².

Duncan Sinclair, Associate Director of MSD Animal Health’s Market Access Team, who led the work, said: “The Five Point Plan has been established for many years, yet lameness remains a persistent issue. These results show the impact of addressing key risk factors in a structured and consistent way.”

He highlighted three lower scoring areas in the assessments where improvements could be made:

• Inconsistent vaccination against footrot, including use of Footvax^® ahead of high-risk periods and booster timing where prevalence was high 
• Gaps in ‘avoid’ measures, including inconsistent use of lime in high-traffic areas and irregular movement of mineral buckets 
• Delays in treating lame sheep and inconsistent recording of affected animals and limbs, limiting follow-up action 

He added that improved recording, particularly alongside compulsory Electronic Identification (EID) systems, presents a significant opportunity, especially when it comes to identifying repeat offenders. 

“EID allows farmers to identify repeat offenders more easily and remove them from the flock. It also supports accurate recording of cases and treatment history. With footrot resistance estimated to be moderately heritable, between 15% and 30%, this information is increasingly valuable for breeding decisions.”

He said this also strengthens the culling element of the plan, enabling more consistent application of a “two strikes and you’re out” approach for chronically affected animals.

Quarantine was also identified as an area for improvement, with inadequate separation of incoming stock for at least four weeks highlighted in several cases.

The results are being released alongside renewed industry focus on sheep lameness, following the launch of a new stakeholder group dedicated to improving lameness control. The initiative is funded through the Farming Innovation Programme’s ADOPT scheme, delivered by Innovate UK in partnership with Defra, and aims to support coordinated action and long-term reductions in lameness across UK flocks.

To hear more about the group's work and learn practical, on-farm strategies for reducing lameness, farmers and industry professionals are invited to attend a dedicated sheep lameness webinar on Thursday 16 July at 7pm. To register for your free place, visit https://incisivemedia.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_cRnjXrhEQ5GRFfWUaxztmw#/registration 

References 

1. MSD Lameness Study Results 2021- 2024. Data on file. 
2. Economic Impact of Health and Welfare Issues in Beef Cattle and Sheep in England (ADAS 2013)

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