Capable of living 12-14 years, most sheep raised for meat are killed at 4-12 months old
Graphic content deliberately avoided. Please click here to view reality for sheep.
‘Winter lambing’ is the practice of impregnating sheep so that they give birth in winter months, meaning their lambs are weaned in spring when pastures are most fertile. While this allows the lambs to grow more quickly, it results in 10-15 million newborn lambs – roughly one in every four – dying within 48 hours of birth from exposure to the harsh cold. For sheep farmers, this is still preferable to the higher feed costs of lambing in warmer months.
To reduce soiling and the risk of flystrike for the lambs who make it to summer, their tails are docked or cut off entirely, and they are often mulesed at the same time, which involves cutting off the skin around their buttocks and the base of their tail with metal shears. If the lambs are younger than 6 months, it is legal to do this without any pain relief.
After a few years, when they can no longer produce enough wool to be considered profitable, the sheep are sent to slaughter and sold as mutton. [Dominion]
