Lameness is the most economically and welfare-significant disease in dairy cattle. Prevention-focused herd management substantially reduces cow suffering.
Dairy lameness welfare is a systems failure rather than an individual failure. High lameness prevalence reflects herd management, nutrition, flooring, and transition cow care failures that accumulate across the production system. The welfare harm is enormous — a lame cow experiences pain comparable to a severe foot injury in humans, sustained for weeks or months while continuing to be milked. Lameness scoring systems allow early detection before cows are severely affected, and prompt treatment with both hoof care and analgesia is effective and economically justified.