Bovine respiratory disease complex is the leading cause of illness and death in feedlot cattle, causing significant welfare harm. Understanding its causes, prevention, and treatment reveals important principles of feedlot animal health management.
Bovine respiratory disease welfare begins with recognising that pneumonia causes significant acute suffering including respiratory distress, fever, and the exhaustion of fighting infection. Feedlot cattle affected by BRD experience reduced appetite and the additional welfare cost of prolonged illness if treatment is delayed. The chronic lung damage in recovered cattle reduces their physiological capacity for the remainder of their lives. The mass antibiotic approach (metaphylaxis) treats the welfare symptom by reducing BRD incidence but at the cost of driving antibiotic resistance. Addressing root causes through improved transport welfare, reduced mixing of unfamiliar groups at arrival, and genetic selection for BRD resistance represents the welfare-positive approach that also reduces antibiotic need.