Farm Animals

Cattle Welfare and Fly Control Programs

Integrated fly control in cattle systems reduces the welfare harm of fly worry while minimising environmental impact from insecticide overuse.

Key Facts

Horn flies cause significant production and welfare losses in cattle systems
Stable flies bite cattle on the legs causing bunching and reduced grazing time
Fly worry causes behavioural changes including grouping, running, and reduced feed intake
Pour-on and spot-on insecticides provide individual animal protection
Environmental controls including manure management reduce fly breeding opportunities

Welfare Considerations

Fly burden causes chronic welfare harm through constant irritation, stress behaviour, and disease transmission. Integrated fly control programmes that combine manure management, appropriate housing, targeted individual treatment, and monitoring reduce fly burden while minimising insecticide environmental impact. Welfare assessment should include fly burden scoring as a seasonal welfare indicator during summer months.

What You Can Do

Support welfare standards requiring seasonal fly burden assessment in cattle systems
Advocate for integrated pest management approaches to cattle fly control
Choose beef and dairy from farms with documented summer fly control programmes
Encourage farmers to combine environmental management with targeted individual treatment
Support research into biological fly control alternatives reducing insecticide dependence