Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the most costly disease in beef and dairy cattle, causing significant welfare harm and economic loss. Prevention-focused management reduces both.
BRD causes significant suffering: fever, difficulty breathing, and chest pain are components of pneumonia regardless of species. Cattle with BRD show reduced feed intake, altered behavior, and compromised immune function. Early recognition and treatment significantly improves welfare outcomes, but the stoicism of cattle means that disease is often advanced before obvious signs appear. Prevention — through vaccination, low-stress handling, and good environmental management — reduces the burden of BRD suffering more effectively than treatment after the fact. The antibiotic stewardship dimension adds urgency to developing effective non-antibiotic prevention strategies.