Australia. Visiting Naracoorte Saleyard

We visit the saleyard to meet the new management and observe the welfare of both the approximately 795 cattle and 10000 sheep penned for sale. The cattle are held under cover on soft floor with water troughs however, the sheep are held in the open on concrete floors which is known to cause sore feet. Very few of the sale pens have water which raises questions about the last time the sheep had a drink before delivery to the facility. The cattle are okay, but we identify four sheep who present with a range of conditions. In one pen, one is not bearing weight, and another has a deformed hind leg. Both are sold for $2.00 each. Despite another sheep being identified before sale as not bearing weight, he is sold for $83.00. Yet another sheep has flystrike. The area around the breech was bloodied and raw where the wool and skin had been cut away, arguably without care. The saleyard permits the owner to collect the sheep and take her back to their farm presumably for treatment. We identify barriers to correctly ensuring good welfare for the sheep and our report will reflect our findings.