Feedlot beef production confines cattle in large outdoor pens for finishing. Welfare challenges include heat stress, respiratory disease, lameness, and behavioral restriction.
Feedlot beef production creates welfare challenges that are inherent to the system. Cattle evolved for continuous movement and grazing on diverse vegetation; feedlots provide confined, enrichment-free environments with high-grain diets that cause acidosis and liver disease. Bovine respiratory disease — the most common and deadly feedlot disease — is exacerbated by the stress and immune suppression of transport, mixing with unfamiliar animals, and abrupt diet change that occur during feedlot entry. Heat stress in the absence of shade is a serious welfare problem in summer feedlot conditions. Welfare improvements including shade provision, respiratory disease prevention protocols, reduced transport stress, and transition diet management are achievable but inconsistently implemented.