Lameness is the most prevalent and economically significant welfare problem in dairy cattle, with regular mobility scoring enabling early detection and treatment before suffering becomes severe.
Lameness in dairy cattle is simultaneously one of the most prevalent welfare problems and one of the most preventable through proactive management. The suffering of a lame cow is acute and often prolonged — animals in pain lose condition, reduce feed intake, fall in milk production, and experience chronic discomfort with every step. Regular locomotion scoring creates the data infrastructure needed to manage lameness at a herd level rather than waiting for individual cows to become obviously incapacitated. Farms with regular scoring programmes detect and treat lameness earlier, maintain lower herd prevalence, and achieve better welfare outcomes. The combination of scoring, prompt treatment, and environmental management — clean tracks, well-maintained cubicles, appropriate foot bathing — can reduce lameness prevalence to below 10% even in commercial systems.