Farm Animal Welfare

Cattle Johne's Disease and Long-term Welfare Management

Johne's disease is a chronic, progressive, and incurable bacterial infection of cattle causing significant welfare impacts over years.

Key Facts

Johne's disease affects cattle globally with prevalence of 10-70% depending on region
Caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis, infection occurs mainly in calves
Clinical signs including weight loss and diarrhoea appear 2-5 years after infection
Infected cows shed bacteria and infect future generations of calves
National control programmes require testing, culling of positives, and calf hygiene

Welfare Considerations

Johne's disease causes progressive debilitation, weight loss, and watery diarrhoea over months to years before death or culling. Affected animals suffer a prolonged decline. Control programmes that prevent new infections and identify and remove clinical cases reduce the long-term welfare burden, but require consistent application over many years to be effective.

What You Can Do

Support national Johne's disease control programmes
Advocate for testing and management training on farms
Learn about Johne's disease welfare implications and support effective policy