Page 223 - The Welfare of Cattle

200 the WeLfare of CattLe

The third leading cause of culling is economic constraints, such as poor market conditions or
drought that limits profitability and obliges a producer to sell cows to reduce herd size. Another
common reason to cull cows also has nothing to do with health and performance. Some cows are
culled due to poor temperament—they may be too wild or break through fences, or are dangerous
to work with.
Beyond these top four reasons, the other health reasons that cows are culled, euthanized, or die
on the ranch occur at very low rates. One notable health challenge for both cows and bulls is lame-
ness or injury. These problems can include damage to feet and legs in a rugged range environment,
injuries to joints that can occur during mating, or injuries from fighting. An infectious foot disease
known as footrot occurs when certain bacteria invade into the skin between the claws, causing
severe pain, and swelling of the foot. This is an easily treated condition if it is caught early in the
disease process, but as noted above, some cases escape detection until they are advanced and the
bones and joints of the toes are also infected. Such untreatable conditions usually result in culling
or euthanasia. Footrot is far more common in intensively managed cattle where feet are exposed to
mud and water. It is relatively uncommon on beef operations. Only 3%–5% of culled cows leave the
herd because of physical unsoundness.
Cows exposed to lush legume pasture can develop life-threatening bloat of the rumen. This is an
emergency because bloat limits respiratory efforts and can kill cows by suffocation. Cows can also
eat solid chunks of feed, such as turnips or potatoes and if not chewed properly they can obstruct
the esophagus, preventing eructation of gas, producing ruminal bloat, and similarly presenting a
life-threatening situation. These types of conditions are certainly problematic when they occur, but
they are infrequent, and most ranch managers are familiar with how they occur and can prevent
them. Of the 1% of cows that die on a ranch about 5% of these deaths are attributable to bloat or
other digestive tract emergencies.
Problems such as infectious mastitis, infectious respiratory disease, and gastrointestinal infec-
tions do occur in beef cows and bulls, but again they are infrequent compared with cattle raised in
intensive operations. About 3%–4% of all cattle deaths are attributable to these causes. These types
of diseases are more common when animals are housed or gathered in close proximity. Such disease
problems are associated with hygiene and ventilation issues, and these circumstances are unusual
in range conditions. There are several infectious diseases that can be insidious in a herd because
some animals carry the infectious agent subclinically, but then serve as reservoirs for infection of
other animals. Such problems represent a significant threat to herd production, but it is uncommon
for animals to suffer from the condition. Examples include Bovine Diarrhea Virus, Johne’s disease,
and Bovine Trichomoniasis. These problems can have severe adverse effects on reproduction or
weight gain, or predispose to other disease conditions and affect the herd very negatively, but few
animals suffer overt disease and suffering.
Cattle on a ranch are almost always exposed to the outdoor environment. This means that com-
pared with more intensively raised animals they are also exposed to flying and biting insects. These
are very difficult to control in an outdoor setting, although producers use a variety of strategies to
minimize their impact. Much of that impact is the nuisance and discomfort of dealing with the
insects. But some insect pests also transfer disease agents and can cause disease. Examples include
the transfer of blood parasites such as Bovine Anaplasmosis, or other disease agents like Vesicular
Stomatitis Virus. As discussed above, such infectious diseases are problematic, but only occasional
animals are affected with problems that produce overt suffering.
In contrast, there are a couple notable ocular diseases that directly relate to the environment.
One is Pinkeye (Infectious Bovine Keratoconjunctivitis). This is a severe problem caused by bac-
teria carried in dust or by flies that damages the cornea of the eye, causing extreme pain, and in
severe cases resulting in blindness. This can be a major problem for the affected cattle and the herd.
Fortunately, the disease can be treated effectively, but its highly contagious nature means it can
cause major problems and it is difficult to control. Another ocular disease is Cancer Eye (Bovine