Dairy Cow Welfare: Dry Cow Antibiotic Therapy and Udder Health

The transition from blanket dry cow antibiotic therapy to selective treatment represents a major welfare policy shift with implications for mastitis prevention and antimicrobial resistance.

Key Facts

Blanket dry cow therapy involved treating all cows with intramammary antibiotics at drying off
UK and EU regulations now require risk-based selective dry cow therapy rather than blanket treatment
Untreated cows require teat sealants as an alternative to antibiotics for infection prevention
Selective dry cow therapy requires more intensive individual cow monitoring and assessment
Reducing antibiotic use in dairy farming is a priority for antimicrobial resistance management

Welfare Considerations

The shift to selective dry cow therapy has welfare implications for individual cows at risk of mastitis during the dry period. Cows at higher infection risk who are not given antibiotic therapy may develop subclinical or clinical mastitis, causing pain and systemic illness. The welfare benefit of reduced antibiotic pressure and resistance risk must be balanced against the welfare risk of inadequately protected high-risk cows. This requires accurate individual cow risk assessment and appropriate use of teat sealants where antibiotics are withheld. Good monitoring and rapid treatment of new infections developing during the dry period are essential welfare safeguards in selective therapy systems.

What You Can Do

Support dairy farms investing in thorough selective dry cow therapy assessment protocols
Advocate for good monitoring systems to identify mastitis in dry cows not receiving antibiotics
Understand the welfare as well as antibiotic resistance rationale for selective dry cow therapy
Buy dairy products from farms with strong mastitis control records and good udder health outcomes