Clostridial diseases including blackleg and botulism cause sudden death and severe suffering in cattle. Prevention through vaccination is highly effective and welfare-critical.
Clostridial diseases cause rapid, severe welfare compromise leading to death in most untreated cases. Blackleg causes gas gangrene in large muscle masses with extreme pain before death. Botulism causes progressive ascending paralysis that is highly distressing as the animal loses the ability to swallow or breathe. Prevention through vaccination is highly effective and the welfare cost of these diseases in unvaccinated cattle is entirely preventable. Vaccine programs protecting cattle from these painful deaths represent one of the clearest welfare interventions in cattle production.