Overview: Welfare analysis of Mycobacterium avium paratuberculosis infection causing Johne's disease in cattle.
Key Welfare Facts
Johne's disease is a chronic progressive intestinal infection causing uncontrolled protein loss and wasting in cattle.
Affected animals develop progressive weight loss, profuse diarrhoea, and bottle jaw over months of disease.
Clinical disease represents prolonged welfare compromise as the infection develops silently over 2-5 years.
There is no effective treatment; culling is the welfare-appropriate response for clinically affected animals.
Test-and-cull programmes combined with colostrum management reduce within-herd transmission over time.
National Johne's management plans allow herds to achieve validated low-risk status through systematic control.
Welfare Assessment
Johne's disease causes prolonged welfare suffering in clinically affected animals. Prevention through systematic management including colostrum hygiene, calf management, and testing is far more welfare-effective than managing clinical cases.
What You Can Do
Implement a Johne's management plan appropriate to herd risk level with veterinary support
Ensure colostrum from tested negative cows only is fed to newborn calves
Test animals regularly to identify subclinically infected cattle before clinical disease develops
Cull clinically affected animals promptly to prevent prolonged suffering