The sheep industry in the Nordic countries

The sheep industry in the Nordic countries varies considerably, with numbers of breeding ewes reaching 57,000, 113,000, 220,000, 400,000 and 1,000,000 in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Iceland and Norway, respectively. Average flock size varies from 12 ewes in Denmark to 255 ewes in Iceland. Main income is derived from lamb meat; wool and milk are of minor importance. Major animal welfare and health concerns relates to neonatal lamb losses, predation during summer pastures and parasitic diarrhoea in lambs. Contagious diseases are rare and control and eradication programs for scrapie and Lentivirus-infections are currently taking place.