The Pros And Cons Of Animal Welfare

Animal welfare should be a top priority for each and every farm. Animal welfare means how an animal is coping with the conditions in which it lives. An animal is in a good state of welfare if it is healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe, able to express innate behavior, and if it is not suffering from unpleasant states such as pain, fear, and distress (Animal Welfare: What is it). In order to practice good animal welfare owners and managers must be proactive in disease prevention and veterinary treatment, apply appropriate shelter, management, nutrition, humane handling and humane slaughter. The dairy industry along with all other sectors of animal production face large amounts of scrutiny from the general public. The majority of scrutiny
However, grazing cows results in an increase of the carbon footprint, decreased milk production, and decreased efficiency. That fact is that improved dairy practices, more attention to animal welfare, and advancement in technology has put us in a position where grazing cattle is not the optimal situation to produce large quantities of milk. These advancements have resulted in a four - fold improvement in milk yield between 1944 and 2007. This allowed the US dairy industry to produce 59% more milk using 64% fewer cows and conferred considerable reductions in feed (77%), land (90%) and water (65%) use per gallon of milk. The carbon footprint of the entire US dairy industry was reduced by 41% over the same period. The advancement moving from grazing systems to total confine housing has resulted in a positive impact for every individual in the world. These impacts range from cheaper prices of dairy products at the store to reduced carbon footprint (Capper, Cady, Bauman,
There are seven practical strategies that dairyman try to incorporate into their facilities to ensure proper welfare during periods of heat stress. The strategies include shade, ventilation, drinking water, supplemental cooling (fans, sprinklers etc.), feeding routine, ration formulation, and stocking density (Seven Practical Heat Stress Abatement Strategies). Situations where animals are standing in large amounts of mud or snow are prime locations for dairymen to be attacked by animal activists. It is important that dairymen use preventive techniques such as cleaning any excess manure or dirt before large storms, applying dry bedding in the high points of corrals or under shade, supplying enough food to prevent a decrease in feed intakes, and ensure that all energy requirements are met (Kerr,