Page 234 - The Welfare of Cattle

ChaPter 20

Welfare Issues in Feedlot Cattle

Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein
Lethbridge Research and Development Centre

Désirée Gellatly, Daniela Mélendez Suarez, and Sonia Marti
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Eugene Janzen
University of Calgary

CONteNtS

The Feedlot Production System ..................................................................................................... 212
Welfare Issues Related to Marketing and the Transition of Cattle between the Ranch and Feedlot ...212
Pre-marketing Management ...................................................................................................... 212
Processing on the Ranch....................................................................................................... 212
Welfare Issues Related to Marketing ........................................................................................ 216
Auction vs Ranch Calves ..................................................................................................... 216
Transportation....................................................................................................................... 216
Welfare Issues Associated with the Backgrounding Feedlot ......................................................... 218
Arrival Processing ..................................................................................................................... 218
The High-risk Calf and BRD .................................................................................................... 218
Welfare Issues Associated with Feedlot Heifers ....................................................................... 219
Welfare Issues Associated with the Finishing Feedlot ...................................................................220
Nutrition ....................................................................................................................................220
Growth Promoting Agents and Cattle Welfare .......................................................................... 221
Welfare Issues Common to the Backgrounding and Finishing Feedlot .........................................222
Environment ..............................................................................................................................222
Lameness ...................................................................................................................................223
Buller Syndrome .......................................................................................................................225
On-Farm Euthanasia ..................................................................................................................226
References ......................................................................................................................................227

In order to limit the redundancies with other sections within this book the contents of this chap-
ter will focus on those welfare issues that are relevant to feedlot cattle production and will include
current findings from recently published and unpublished studies from a Canadian perspective. A
brief overview of the North American feedlot production system will be given to provide a better
understanding of the welfare issues related to different phases of the feedlot system and the specific
management factors within each phase that contribute to poor welfare outcomes. Some topics such

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