Mineral deficiencies — particularly selenium, copper, and magnesium — cause significant welfare harm in livestock and are preventable through appropriate supplementation and monitoring.
Mineral deficiency welfare harms range from acute to chronic: white muscle disease causes painful muscle necrosis in selenium-deficient lambs; hypomagnesaemia causes distressing seizures and death within hours; copper deficiency impairs immune function over months, increasing disease susceptibility. These conditions are largely preventable through understanding farm-specific mineral status and appropriate supplementation. The barrier is often knowledge rather than cost — farmers who do not test may not recognise deficiency as the cause of welfare problems they observe.