How the welfare of cattle in feedlot systems can be improved and what the key welfare challenges are in intensive beef finishing.
Feedlot cattle welfare is shaped by a system designed around rapid growth efficiency. The high-concentrate diets that achieve maximum weight gain in minimum time are associated with digestive disorders including acidosis. The confined spaces that make cattle management efficient reduce the ability to express natural movement and social behaviour. Respiratory disease spreads rapidly in stressed, densely housed animals. Yet within these systems, there is significant room for welfare improvement: better pen design, shade provision, prophylactic respiratory disease management, and more gradual dietary transitions all reduce the welfare burden without compromising the system's commercial viability. And the most transformative change — reducing overall beef consumption — remains the most powerful lever.