Page 305 - The Welfare of Cattle

282 the WeLfare of CattLe

trailer was a place of solace from being chased and harassed and would hop in to get away from
horse and rider.

three PerSPeCtIVeS ON heaLth aND WeLFare OF DaIrY CattLe

Societal expectations

The future sustainability of agriculture depends on establishing trust between the producer
and the consumer. Today, <1% of the population in the US is involved in production agriculture.
Consumers have very little contact with the people that care for the animals and produce the food
they ultimately consume. Furthermore, they have little understanding about the life of the animal,
or the care of these animals. Whatever understanding and trust that may have been established with
the consumer can be easily and quickly destroyed by one video that goes viral of one incident of an
animal being mishandled or abused. Arnot (2008) states that agriculture needs to address changing
perceptions about the environment that affects the animals’ lives on the farm and how to incorpo-
rate the best practices that are ethically based, scientifically sound and economically viable for the
welfare of the animal.

PrODUCer’S CONtraCt aND OBLIGatIONS tO SOCIetY aND aNIMaLS

The consumer has an expectation that the dairy products and meat that they consume are safe
and wholesome and that the animals that produce their food should be cared for in a humane manner.
FDA and USDA regulations provide guidance for testing of milk for drug residue to assure the safety
and wholesomeness of the food. Every tanker of milk is tested for beta-lactam antibiotics upon arrival
at the processor. In addition, processors may randomly test for other drug residues. As an industry,
just testing for beta-lactam antibiotics will not be adequate in the future with increased consumer
concerns about drug residue, antibiotic resistance and safety of milk. It is likely that additional drugs
will be added to the routine list of mandatory tests. In the case of meat safety, the carcass of any cull
dairy cow that has any indication of injection site lesions is pulled off the line for further testing for
drug residues. The owner of animal has a legal obligation to send residue –free animals to slaughter.
The veterinarian has an obligation to the owner/producer that treatment protocols are compliant with
the label for the drug including the dose, route of administration, duration of treatment, milk with-
hold following cessation of treatment and stated slaughter withhold and that only healthy animals
are sent to slaughter. If there is any deviation from the label guidance, the veterinarian of record can
alter the protocol under the guidance of AMDUCA (Animal Medical Drug Use Clarification Act) but
assumes responsibility and liability for any residue along with the producer.
The three factors that are necessary for building and sustaining trust in this social contract
between the producer and the consumer are that the treatment of the animals is ethically grounded,
scientifically verified and is economically viable. Arnot (2008), states that to be ethically grounded,
there should be shared values including compassion, responsibility, respect, fairness and truth.
Scientific verification uses specific, measurable, and repeatable observations to provide data for
objective decisions. Scientific verification can provide insight in how food systems should be man-
aged but needs to maintain balance with ethical consideration, not only justification for a scientific
process for the care and treatment of the animal. The process of producing food must be economi-
cally viable for without a profit margin for producer, the producer cannot sustain the business. The
variations of input prices of commodities and meat and milk in the market place can and at times
reduce the price of product below the cost of production.