Mastitis is the most common and economically significant disease in dairy cattle, causing significant pain and immune stress that proactive management can substantially prevent.
Mastitis welfare encompasses a spectrum from subclinical infection causing chronic low-grade pain and immune activation, to severe acute disease with systemic illness, fever, and profound suffering. The subclinical end of this spectrum is welfare-significant precisely because it is invisible — cows in pain from subclinical mastitis show behavioral changes detectable by trained observers but easily missed. Prevention through excellent milking hygiene, post-milking teat disinfection, appropriate dry cow management, and comfortable, clean housing addresses the welfare problem at its root. Farms that invest in mastitis prevention achieve both better animal welfare and reduced antibiotic use, demonstrating again that these goals are closely aligned in dairy production.