While it’s common to see cows and sheep in muddy paddocks or rain in Aotearoa, this isn’t natural or acceptable for them. Forcing animals to live in mud is as cruel for cows and sheep as it would be for dogs or cats. Farmed animals don’t tolerate mud and rain because they’re indifferent to it—they simply have no choice. If shelter is provided, animals readily use it to escape poor weather and strongly prefer to rest in clean, dry spaces. Providing animals with shelter is a requirement under New Zealand’s Animal Welfare Act, and mud farming violates this basic welfare provision. 
 
Studies confirm that animals dislike sitting on mud and wet ground, often preferring even hard concrete to these conditions. To avoid contact with cold mud, they contort their legs into uncomfortable positions, which causes additional stress. Prolonged exposure to wet, freezing conditions can lead to hypothermia, a frequent cause of death for young animals subjected to mud farming. 

In severely muddy conditions, animals can’t move freely to access food and water. For ruminants like cows, lying down and ruminating is essential for proper digestion, but deep mud prevents them from resting comfortably, leading to stress and impaired digestion. Additionally, muddy conditions prevent animals from grazing, which is vital for their nutritional needs and overall welfare. Prolonged exposure to wet, muddy environments can also cause lameness, foot infections such as foot rot, and skin conditions like dermatophilosis (“mud fever”).

Food and water are typically placed around the edges of the paddock, where animals crowd together, churning the ground into deep mud. Dropped food becomes contaminated with mud, forcing animals to ingest harmful bacteria and pathogens that can cause gastrointestinal illnesses. Animals unable to navigate the thick mud may be left to drink from filthy puddles contaminated with faeces and urine, increasing the risk of disease. The constant exposure to mud and wet conditions can also compromise the animals’ immune systems, making them more susceptible to illness.

Yes, animals on mud farms frequently suffer injuries and illnesses. The uneven, slippery ground makes it difficult for them to balance or move, which can lead to fractures, broken legs, and other injuries. Constant exposure to wet conditions causes foot rot, a painful disease that weakens the legs and feet, further restricting movement. Newborns are particularly vulnerable, as slippery surfaces increase their risk of falls and injuries. 

The unsanitary conditions also lead to serious health issues. Mud-coated animals are more likely to ingest harmful bacteria and pathogens when grooming themselves, resulting in infections. For example, sheep can develop mud fever, which causes painful skin inflammation, crusting, and bleeding. This condition, especially when affecting the feet or legs, limits their ability to move, leading to starvation and weight loss. Cows in muddy conditions are also at higher risk of infections due to dirt and pathogens covering their legs, udders, and sides. 

Yes, cows and sheep feel the cold and can become uncomfortable when temperatures drop below 4°C for cows and 7°C for sheep. Wet conditions make them even more vulnerable, and on mud farms, where animals are constantly wet and muddy, the impact of low temperatures is amplified. 

Newborns are especially at risk, as they lack the energy reserves needed to keep warm. Lambs and calves born on mud farms can die from hypothermia, even in relatively mild temperatures. Without shelter or adequate nutrition, they cannot maintain their body heat, leaving them highly susceptible to the cold. 

It’s important to recognise that cold weather doesn’t only harm animals when it leads to death. Prolonged exposure to cold conditions can cause significant suffering long before hypothermia sets in. 

Mud farming can cause a dangerous phenomenon known as pugging, which occurs when animals trample wet soil intensively, breaking down and compacting it while removing surface vegetation. This compaction prevents rainfall from filtering properly through the soil, causing runoff that carries sediments, nitrates, and phosphorus from animal waste into nearby waterways. At the same time, nitrous oxide and ammonia are released into the air. 

The effects of pugging are severe. In waterways, the chemical runoff triggers eutrophication, depleting oxygen levels and killing aquatic life. Nitrates in water can also cause gastrointestinal illnesses in humans and, in infants, a rare but serious condition called blue baby syndrome. The release of nitrous oxide into the atmosphere further exacerbates climate change, as this gas is a major contributor to ozone layer depletion. 

Pugging not only harms the environment but also creates long-term damage to soil and water quality, threatening ecosystems and human health alike.