Farm Animals

Cattle Bovine Leukosis Welfare

Bovine Leukosis Virus (BLV) causes lymphoma in a proportion of infected cattle, with most infections subclinical but clinical disease causing significant welfare suffering.

Key Facts

BLV is endemic in many cattle populations worldwide with prevalence up to 80% in some herds
Most infected cattle are lifelong subclinical carriers with no apparent disease
Approximately 5% of infected cattle develop enzootic bovine leukosis (lymphoma)
Lymphoma causes tumour development in multiple organs causing progressive deterioration
Blood testing enables identification of infected animals for management purposes

Welfare Considerations

BLV lymphoma causes progressive suffering in affected cattle. Control programmes that reduce herd prevalence protect future generations from clinical disease welfare impacts.

What You Can Do

Test herd BLV status and implement control measures in infected herds
Cull animals showing clinical lymphoma signs promptly to prevent prolonged suffering
Implement biosecurity to prevent BLV introduction into clean herds
Support national BLV control programme development in endemic countries