The dairy cattle code of welfare (2010) encourages all farmers to adopt the highest standards of husbandry, care and handling. It sets out general principles of care and will be enhanced by industry good practice guidelines.
Very few of us, be it members of the public or those more directly associated with the dairy industry, would disagree with prohibiting the use of a vehicle to assist a calving. Fortunately, it is now some decades since I was last told "you can do your caesarean after I have tried the tractor!"
The code contains limited information on how to ensure that welfare standards are met. In fact, some may consider it a rather "soft" document, lacking in detail. Rather than being a textbook on health and welfare, the code identifies minimum acceptable measurable requirements for various parameters associated with optimal health, production and welfare of all classes of dairy stock.
The code also addresses the issue of appropriate body condition scoring (BCS) for dairy cattle and establishes the lower threshold BCS where urgent action has to be taken to improve condition.
Veterinary-managed procedures have rapidly become "normal". Consider the use of CIDRs to reduce the perennial problem of non-cycling cows. The importance of feeding and its impact on reproductive performance seemed to get lost with the advent of the CIDR. Many farmers just wanted access to "the drugs to make my cows get in calf", not a lecture on feeding. Perhaps this attitude is simply a reflection of today's instant gratification society?
We all know that improving cow condition reduces CIDR use, improves submission rate and lowers empty rates. Are we meeting our obligations when we insert CIDRs into cows with a BCS of less than 3, expecting them to respond as if they were in good health?
Minimum standards in this code cover:
- Stockmanship and the requirement for adequate training
- Adequate daily quantities of food and water
- Requirements for adequate shade and shelter
- Appropriate design, construction and maintenance of handling and housing facilities
- Stand-off areas and feed pads
- Requirements for milking and milking equipment
- Requirements for calving
- Appropriate management of calves (including hand-rearing and feeding)
- Effective prevention and treatment of any ill health (including lameness)
- Requirements around pre-transport selection of animals
- Emergency humane destruction procedures
While calving and BCS are easy to focus on, there are many other areas of farming practice where veterinary input and education of industry staff can assist in ensuring that welfare standards are achieved.
The code may not make riveting reading but take the time to read it and ponder the impact it has on you.
http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/animal-welfare/codes/dairy-cattle
