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    Saliha Mohammedi
    Dairy cows face several welfare issues. They are often slaughtered after 3-4 lactations when milk production declines. Lameness is common due to conditions like lesions and ulcers which can result from poor housing. Mastitis, an udder infection, is also prevalent, being found in 70 out of 100 cows on average in the UK. Cows are often indoors which limits exercise and increases disease risk. Housing issues such as inadequate bedding or cubicle design can cause lameness and mastitis. Calves are separated from mothers at birth, causing distress, and male calves may be killed or sold for veal. Transportation of calves can be over long distances when only a week old, increasing stress and disease risk

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    Text 1: .

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    Saliha Mohammedi
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    Dairy cows face several welfare issues. They are often slaughtered after 3-4 lactations when milk production declines. Lameness is common due to conditions like lesions and ulcers which can result from poor housing. Mastitis, an udder infection, is also prevalent, being found in 70 out of 100 cows on average in the UK. Cows are often indoors which limits exercise and increases disease risk. Housing issues such as inadequate bedding or cubicle design can cause lameness and mastitis. Calves are separated from mothers at birth, causing distress, and male calves may be killed or sold for veal. Transportation of calves can be over long distances when only a week old, increasing stress and disease risk

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    Dairy cows face several welfare issues. They are often slaughtered after 3-4 lactations when milk production declines. Lameness is common due to conditions like lesions and ulcers which can result from poor housing. Mastitis, an udder infection, is also prevalent, being found in 70 out of 100 cows on average in the UK. Cows are often indoors which limits exercise and increases disease risk. Housing issues such as inadequate bedding or cubicle design can cause lameness and mastitis. Calves are separated from mothers at birth, causing distress, and male calves may be killed or sold for veal. Transportation of calves can be over long distances when only a week old, increasing stress and disease risk

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    24 views2 pages

    Text 1: .

    Uploaded by

    Saliha Mohammedi
    Dairy cows face several welfare issues. They are often slaughtered after 3-4 lactations when milk production declines. Lameness is common due to conditions like lesions and ulcers which can result from poor housing. Mastitis, an udder infection, is also prevalent, being found in 70 out of 100 cows on average in the UK. Cows are often indoors which limits exercise and increases disease risk. Housing issues such as inadequate bedding or cubicle design can cause lameness and mastitis. Calves are separated from mothers at birth, causing distress, and male calves may be killed or sold for veal. Transportation of calves can be over long distances when only a week old, increasing stress and disease risk

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    Given a natural healthy life, cows can live for twenty years or more. High-yielding dairy cows
    will typically be slaughtered after three or four lactations because their milk production drops
    and/or they are chronically lame or infertile.
    Lameness is painful and a significant welfare problem for dairy cows worldwide. Cows may
    go lame due to various conditions associated with bacterial infection, such as hoof lesions,
    sole ulcers, laminitis and digital dermatitis. These conditions can be caused by poor quality
    floors, ineffective foot trimming, poor nutrition and prolonged standing on concrete floors.
    Lameness often leads to additional welfare problems such as mastitis and metabolic diseases.
    Mastitis, inflammation of the udder, is the painful result of bacterial infection that is prevalent
    among dairy cows. In a herd of 100 cows in the UK, there could be as many as 70 cases of
    mastitis every year on average. A cow’s udder can become infected with mastitis-causing
    bacteria due to contamination of milking equipment or bedding. Therefore cows that are
    housed for long periods of time are more likely to develop mastitis than those kept at pasture.
    Cow infertility is a major productivity problem for farmers with high-yielding dairy cows. It
    can be caused by nutritional deficiencies, stress and poor body condition, therefore it is often
    a sign of poor welfare.
    Most dairy cows will be kept indoors for part or all of the year. Cows typically have less
    opportunity to act naturally and exercise when indoors, compared to when they are at pasture,
    however indoor housing may be necessary during bad weather. Good housing design and
    management are essential for good welfare. Crowded conditions, poor ventilation and high
    humidity increase the risk and spread of infection.

    Rest is very important to cows, especially during lactation, and they need somewhere
    comfortable to lie. Cows that are kept on concrete floors with inadequate bedding, or in
    housing with poorly designed cubicles, will be more likely to develop mastitis or become
    lame. Hard flooring is also more painful for lame cows to stand and walk on, and cows may
    slip and injure themselves if floors are wet from excrement.
    Cattle are ruminants that naturally graze or browse on grasses and other vegetation, therefore
    they require lots of fibre in their diet. However, dairy cows that produce high yields of milk
    require more nutrient-dense diets, so are fed more concentrates and less forages. This leads to
    a build-up of acids in the rumen (part of the stomach) which, if occurring for prolonged
    periods each day, causes acidosis. Cows with acidosis often have diarrhoea and can develop
    laminitis (damage to the feet that causes lameness).
    Cows in organic systems receive a diet higher in fibre and have access to pasture during the
    grazing season.In the US, many dairy cows are injected regularly with growth hormones
    (rBST) to increase milk yield. This is illegal in the EU.
    Naturally, calves suckle their mothers for up to a year, and maintain a strong bond with her
    for several years. However in commercial dairy farming, nearly all calves are taken away
    from their mother within hours of birth. This causes severe distress to both the cow and the
    calf, and has long-term effects on the calf’s physical and social development.
    Most female calves will be reared to join the milking herd but as male calves cannot produce
    milk, they are considered surplus to the dairy industry. Male calves will either be shot after
    birth, or sold to be reared for veal or beef.
    Calves destined for the meat industry may be transported for several days over long distances
    by road and/ship, to rearing facilities which may be in different countries. This is very
    stressful and calves may be transported when only a week old. They will be hungry, tired, and
    fearful, and are particularly vulnerable to disease and injury at this age.
    When dairy cows become less productive or have significant health problems, they may be
    transported long distances to be slaughtered. This is because few slaughterhouses deal with
    spent dairy cows.

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