Lameness affects approximately 25% of UK dairy cows at any time and represents both the most significant welfare challenge and one of the largest economic losses in dairy farming.
Lame cows experience chronic pain that affects every aspect of their lives — they eat less, move less, and show behavioral indicators of pain including weight shifting, altered posture, and reduced social participation. The severity ranges from mild gait abnormality to non-weight-bearing injury. Treatment is effective if applied promptly but many cows are identified late in the disease progression when recovery is slower and pain more prolonged. The welfare and economic cases for lameness prevention align unusually closely, yet prevalence remains high because prevention requires management commitment rather than reactive treatment.