The definition of lamb is changing in Australia – from 1 July 2019.
The current definition of lamb is ‘A female, castrate or entire male that has 0 permanent incisor teeth’.
The new definition is ‘an ovine animal that:
(a) is under 12 months of age; or
(b) does not have any permanent incisor teeth in wear.’
This means a lamb is able to cut one or both of its permanent central incisor teeth, as long as they are not in wear.
A permanent incisor is considered ‘in wear’ if:
• it touches the upper pad when the sheep’s mouth is closed
• it is above the height of the lamb’s milk teeth either side of the permanent incisors.
Resources
The sheep industry has compiled a range of resources to inform producers and other industry stakeholders about the new definition.
Read the Fact sheet on Australia’s new definition of lamb
Read the Fact sheet on Erupted permanent incisor teeth not in wear – the impact on eating quality
View the video on Australia’s new definition of lamb
