Feedlot finishing of cattle raises significant welfare concerns around space, mud management, heat stress, and the rapid dietary transition from forage to grain.
Feedlot welfare challenges are multiple and interacting. Dietary acidosis from rapid grain introduction causes significant pain and metabolic disruption. Heat stress in summer conditions causes suffering and death. Mud from inadequate drainage traps animals, causes leg problems, and increases disease pressure. The rapid growth rates driven by high-energy diets also stress the cardiovascular and skeletal systems. While feedlots provide health monitoring and feed management that can exceed extensive systems in some respects, the combination of confinement and these physical stressors creates substantial welfare challenges.