Lameness affects 20-25% of dairy cows at any given time and represents one of the most prevalent and undertreated sources of chronic pain in farm animals, with significant welfare and productivity costs that are largely preventable.
Cattle lameness represents a chronic welfare crisis of enormous scale. At any given time, approximately one in four dairy cows is experiencing significant foot pain — pain that affects every step and alters behavior in ways that compound the welfare cost. The social behavior changes in lame cows — reduced movement, avoidance of competitive feeding situations, reduced access to resting areas — create secondary welfare costs beyond the primary pain of the lesion. The underdiagnosis problem is critical: farmers who observe their cows daily become habituated to mild lameness signs that represent genuine suffering. Automated lameness detection systems and standardized mobility scoring are improving detection rates. Treatment with NSAIDs, combined with hoof trimming and isolation for recovery, represents the welfare-optimal response to detected lameness.