Bovine respiratory disease (BRD) is the leading cause of mortality and welfare compromise in beef calves, requiring early detection and prompt treatment to minimise suffering and chronic lung damage.
BRD causes significant, progressive welfare compromise in beef calves. Affected calves experience fever, laboured breathing, nasal discharge, and pain that impairs feeding, social behaviour, and normal development. Early treatment with appropriate antibiotics and anti-inflammatories significantly improves welfare outcomes and reduces chronic lung damage. Delayed treatment allows irreversible lung consolidation, creating permanent welfare compromise even in animals that survive. Preventive strategies including vaccination, stress reduction at weaning, and appropriate housing ventilation address welfare at source. Training all stock handlers in early BRD detection through validated scoring systems is a high-impact welfare intervention.