Feedlot cattle production raises specific welfare challenges from confined housing, rapid growth feeding, and management of large groups.
Feedlot welfare challenges are systemic rather than individual: the entire production system is optimized for rapid weight gain with welfare as a secondary consideration. Cattle evolved for continuous grazing across large ranges are confined in bare pens and fed diets that cause rumen acidosis and its sequelae including liver abscesses, laminitis, and bloat. The high stocking density and lack of environmental complexity reduce behavioral options to near zero for the duration of feedlot residence. Heat stress in feedlots without shade causes both acute welfare harm and significant mortality. Improving feedlot welfare requires shade provision as a minimum, improved veterinary oversight, better acidosis prevention through diet management, and ultimately questioning whether this production system can ever provide adequate welfare for the number of animals it confines.