Mastitis is the most economically significant disease in dairy farming and a major welfare problem. Evidence-based prevention and treatment approaches reduce suffering for millions of cows.
Mastitis — inflammation of the udder — causes significant pain that directly impairs cow welfare. Acute clinical mastitis with swelling, heat, and systemic illness causes obvious suffering; subclinical mastitis, detectable only through somatic cell counts in milk, causes chronic lower-level pain that is easily overlooked. The affected cow reduces food intake, shows behavioural changes, and experiences disrupted rest patterns. Management-based prevention (hygiene, teat dipping, dry cow therapy, cubicle cleanliness) significantly reduces incidence, while rapid treatment of clinical cases with appropriate antibiotics reduces the duration of suffering. High mastitis rates are a welfare audit failure indicator.