‘State-of-the-nation’ report identifies top cattle health and welfare issues

THE top 10 cattle health and welfare problems facing both beef and dairy animals are identified in the first ‘state-of-the-nation’ report by the GB Cattle Health and Welfare Group (CHAWG), the industry-led body that represents the interests of the cattle sector.

The report, which was published during the Livestock 2012 event in Birmingham last week, provides a snapshot of cattle health and welfare in both the dairy and beef sectors in Great Britain. Great Britain is considered rather than the wider UK, because, the CHAWG explains, it comprises a discrete biosecurity unit.

The focus on issues at a GB level is welcomed by Nigel Gibbens, the Chief Veterinary Officer, in a foreword to the report. Mr Gibbens comments that cattle health and welfare has ‘perhaps never been more important’. He notes that it is becoming increasingly hard for cattle keepers to achieve profitability; that retailers and consumers are concerned about the care of the animals that produce their food; and that efficient production is one of many things …