Feedlot cattle represent the final phase of beef production and face distinct welfare challenges from crowding, environmental conditions, and respiratory disease.
Feedlot welfare varies enormously between operations. Well-managed feedlots with adequate space, shade, mud management, and proactive disease monitoring provide meaningfully better welfare than poorly managed ones. Respiratory disease is the primary welfare concern because it causes acute illness in young cattle and is often treated reactively rather than prevented proactively. Metaphylaxis programs — preventive antibiotic treatment at entry — reduce disease incidence but raise antibiotic resistance concerns. The behavioral restrictions of feedlot living — limited movement, lack of grazing behavior, social mixing of unfamiliar cattle — represent genuine welfare limitations compared to grazing systems, though the grass-to-feedlot welfare comparison is complex and context-dependent.