Dairy Welfare Flashcards
What are the animal welfare regulations in dairy cattle?
- disbudding and dehorning
- stock transport
- tail docking
- assist calving cows
- castration
- young calf regulations
Under the Code of Welfare, what constitutes as a dairy cattle?
- dairy cows
- calves born from dairy cows until weaning
- all dairy replacement stock
- calves sent for slaughter
- bulls brought onto the farm or kept as breeding centers
Summarize the regulations for disbudding and dehorning in dairy cattle?
local anesthetic is required at all ages
Summarize the regulations for stock transport in dairy cattle?
stock must be fit for transport and animals with injured or diseased udders cannot be transported
Summarize the regulations for tail docking in dairy cattle?
a person must not shorten or remove the tail of any cattle beast
Summarize the regulations for assisting in calving in dairy cattle?
no use of traction with a moving vehicle, motorized wench, or any other device that does not allow for the immediate release of tension for the purposes of calving cows
Summarize the regulations for castration in dairy cattle?
local anesthetic must be used when castrating or shortening the scrotum of a bull over the age of 6 months, or when using a high tension band at any age
Summarize the regulations for young calves in dairy cattle?
bobby calves feed, shelter, and transport
What are the five welfare domains?
- 1: nutrition
- 2: environment
- 3: health
- 4: behavior
- 5: mental domain
What are the key welfare issues in dairy cattle?
- lameness
- broken tails
- shade/shelter
What impacts on welfare does lameness have in dairy cattle?
- eat less, ruminate less
- walk less (milked OAD & closer to shed)
- less pasture (quality and quantity)
- increased risk of mastitis and other illness (cystic ovaries)
- high chance of recurrent lameness
- less positive interaction
- less heat behavior
- long period of distress
How can the impact on welfare caused by lameness be minimized?
- prompt early treatment
- have trained staff
- do regular lameness scoring
- have good tracks and good cow flow
- cull repeatedly lame cows
What is a broken tail?
- a tail where the connective tissue (fascia) over the vertebrae is broken
What are the statistics on broken tails on diary cattle in NZ?
- most farms have none
- 11.5% of all cattle have broken tails (9.5% are deviations, 0.9% from trauma)
- 4.5% of all cattle have shortened tails
- 4.5% of all cattle have tails broken in the year
- these are high compared to overseas
What are the main causes of a broken tail in dairy cattle?
- accidental (machinery, gates, tree or fence)
- negligence: use of the tail to maneuver cows (ignorance, malicious intent)
What is the impact on welfare caused by broken tails?
- chronic pain decreases appetite
- can’t use tail to swat at flies or to display emotion
- long term pain
- can interfere with mating if pain is severe
- causes distress and fear
What are the kinds of shelter for dairy cattle on paddocks?
- shelter belt (rows of trees; length must be at least 12x the height of trees)
- shade (at least 80% of paddocks should have trees for quick rotation; 6m² required per cow
Why do farms lack shade and shelter?
- prefer more grass area to trees
- prefer irrigation over trees
- to avoid camping
What impacts on welfare are caused by the lack of shade and shelter?
- eat less
- too hot or too cold
- camping & search for shelter
- more mastitis (typically from camping and mud)
- more lameness
- heat stress
- changes cattle priority
- distress, not good quality of life
