Hoof diseases including digital dermatitis, white line disease and foot rot cause widespread lameness in dairy cattle, making hoof health a primary welfare priority.
Hoof disease causes chronic pain that affects walking, feeding and overall quality of life. Lame cows spend more time lying and less time at feed, compounding welfare impacts through reduced nutrition. High lameness prevalence on farms indicates systemic welfare failures in housing design, foot health management or both. Welfare-centred hoof health management combines prevention through good cubicle design and foot bathing with regular trimming and rapid identification and treatment of individual lame animals. Lameness should be a core welfare outcome indicator in dairy assurance schemes.