Farm Animals

Cattle Welfare and Cattle Mastitis Prevention

Mastitis prevention in dairy cattle requires a comprehensive dry cow and milking management approach that improves welfare and reduces disease burden.

Key Facts

Preventive dry cow therapy reduces new intramammary infections by 60% during the dry period
Teat dip after milking reduces contagious mastitis pathogen transmission between cows
Milking machine maintenance prevents physical trauma that increases mastitis susceptibility
Cubicle hygiene reduces environmental mastitis pathogen challenge at the udder
Selective dry cow therapy guided by milk recording data targets treatment to high-risk cows

Welfare Considerations

Mastitis prevention is a welfare imperative that reduces chronic pain and immune compromise for dairy cows. Prevention is more effective and more humane than repeated treatment.

What You Can Do

Advocate for mastitis prevention standards in dairy welfare certification
Support milk recording programs that enable data-driven dry cow decisions
Choose dairy from farms with documented mastitis prevention protocols