Flystrike in sheep is the disease every shepherd dreads through the warm months, and across the upland and lowland flocks of the North West it accounts for a real share of preventable summer losses. Greenbottle flies lay eggs in damp, soiled or wounded fleece, maggots hatch within hours in warm weather, and an animal can go from grazing normally to critically ill in a single day. Where strike proves fatal, or where a badly struck ewe has to be put down, the carcass becomes a regulated animal by-product, and a licensed operator providing fallen stock and ABP collection is the lawful route off your holding. Martlands collects fallen sheep across Lancashire, Cumbria, Cheshire and North Wales throughout the strike season from our base in Burscough.
Why Flystrike Is a Summer Killer
Strike risk is driven almost entirely by weather. A warm, humid spell after rain creates ideal conditions for blowflies, and the period from late spring through to early autumn is when most cases occur. Sheep with dirty back ends from lush summer grass, footrot, open wounds, or long fleece before shearing are at the highest risk. Lambs and ewes alike can be affected, and once maggots begin feeding the animal suffers rapid tissue damage, toxaemia and shock. Even with prompt veterinary treatment, a proportion of struck animals cannot be saved, which is why prevention and rapid disposal go hand in hand.
Prevention Reduces, But Never Removes, the Risk
Good flock management cuts strike dramatically. Timely shearing, dagging dirty animals, effective worm control to reduce scouring, prompt footrot treatment, and the correct use of preventative pour-on products all lower the odds. Checking sheep at least daily through a warm spell, and more often during a humid heatwave, allows you to catch early strike when treatment still works. None of this guarantees zero losses, however, and a single missed animal in a far field can be dead by the time it is found. That is the reality the disposal rules are written for.
What the Law Requires When a Sheep Dies
The disposal duty for sheep is the same as for any farmed animal. Under the Animal By-Products (Enforcement) (England) Regulations 2013 you must arrange collection by an approved operator without undue delay, and burying or burning the carcass on your land is not permitted. Many smaller keepers still believe a dead sheep can simply be buried, and our article on ban on burying or burning fallen stock explains exactly why that has been unlawful since 2003. For shepherds wanting the full picture of their obligations, our dedicated guide to fallen stock collection for sheep farmers covers documentation, scheme membership and collection arrangements in detail.
The Biosecurity Case for Fast Removal
A struck carcass left in the field in summer is a magnet for more flies, which then spread to the living flock and worsen the strike cycle across the whole group. It also attracts foxes, crows and vermin and can contaminate grazing and water. Removing a dead animal quickly is therefore not just a legal box to tick, it is active disease control. Martlands is a member of the National Fallen Stock Company, and our explanation of who is NFSCO sets out how the national scheme supports affordable, compliant collection for sheep keepers. The broader principle is covered in our piece on how ABP collection supports biosecurity, which is especially relevant when strike is sweeping a flock.
Upland Flocks and Remote Collection
Sheep farming in the North West often means difficult ground, from the fells above Kendal and the Howgills to the moorland flocks of the Forest of Bowland and the hills behind Burnley. Collecting fallen stock from these holdings needs an operator that understands access, weather and distance. Our rapid-response fleet works out from Burscough across the whole region, and we maintain dedicated cover for Cumbria fallen stock collection where upland sheep losses can spike during a humid summer. Wherever your flock grazes, the aim is the same, which is to get the carcass off your ground quickly and lawfully before it becomes a wider problem.
Keeping Records Through the Strike Season
Every fallen sheep we collect comes with a Commercial Document recording the movement to an approved facility. Across a bad strike summer those documents build into a clear record of your losses, which supports your flock health planning and keeps you ready for a Red Tractor or local authority inspection. Sheep keepers sometimes underestimate how useful that paper trail is until an assessor asks for it, and our wider note on fallen stock record keeping explains how to keep it tidy.
Be Ready Before the Flies Arrive
The shepherds who handle strike season best are the ones who have prevention dialled in and a disposal arrangement already in place, so that a fatal case means one phone call rather than a scramble. Having a clean, accessible collection point and knowing your collection number in advance saves time when an animal needs removing in the heat. Strike moves fast, and so should your response.
Why Shearing Timing Shapes Your Strike Risk
The single biggest lever most flocks have over strike is the timing of shearing and dagging. A full fleece going into a warm, wet July traps moisture against the skin and gives blowflies exactly the damp, sheltered conditions they need, whereas a recently shorn ewe is far less attractive and far easier to inspect. Planning shearing before the first sustained warm spell, keeping tails and back ends clean, and treating any lame or scouring animals promptly all compress the window in which strike can take hold. None of this is a substitute for daily checks through the danger period, but flocks that get the husbandry calendar right tend to lose far fewer animals and call for collection far less often across the season.
If you keep sheep anywhere across the North West and want a dependable fallen stock collection partner for the summer, call Martlands on 01704 776977 and we will arrange prompt, compliant removal of your fallen animals.
