Zoonotic diseases including bovine TB, E. coli O157, and Cryptosporidium affect both cattle welfare and human health, with management interventions that are designed to protect humans sometimes creating welfare trade-offs for animals.
Bovine TB eradication through compulsory slaughter of test-positive cattle creates a welfare paradox: animals that may not yet be clinically affected are killed to prevent spread. The bTB testing process itself, involving injection and reading, is stressful for cattle. Clinical bTB in advanced cases causes significant suffering through respiratory compromise and wasting. Effective eradication programmes, while involving short-term welfare costs for individual animals, protect the broader population from a disease that causes long-term suffering when established. Vaccination advances, if realised, could allow disease control without compulsory slaughter.