Today sheep are bred to give meat and wool. With their weight and wool combined, this gives them a heavy body, which prevents them from running as easily as before. In winter, the sheep are trapped inside barns in narrow bins without being able to move hardly at all. Many also lay on slatted floors, with others lying on metal floors that have holes, which makes for a very drafty environment with air constantly blowing around. In the summer months when sheep are let outside, many die because they get stuck, fall off of a cliff or are taken by predators. Most farmers let the sheep out in the spring without having a shepherd to lead them. The animals also experience suffering caused by parasites, fly larvae and ticks. The fly larvae lays eggs on the sheep that give them intense itching and large sores. When the sheep are collected in autumn, the lambs are sent to the slaughterhouse.
*Photo of a sheep standing on metal floor.
