The Impact of Lameness on Welfare of the Dairy Cow

• The five freedoms offer a useful framework for the discussion of lameness and its impact on the welfare of lame cows.
• Altered feeding behavior may be an important cause of reduced body condition, a smaller digital cushion, and lameness due to sole ulcers and white line disease.
• Providing a comfortable environment for lame cows during the post-treatment period is critical to their recovery and welfare.
• Pain associated with injury or disease of feet and/or legs is manifested by lameness. Pain management is an important part of therapy. In cases of severe lameness (SL), euthanasia may be the preferred option to end otherwise uncontrollable suffering.
• Lameness interferes with an animal’s ability to exhibit natural behaviors by altering lying time, social interaction, ovarian activity and estrus intensity, and possibly rumination behavior.