The first-ever Dairy Cattle Welfare Symposium was hosted recently by the University of Guelph and The Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare in Guelph, Ontario. The event attracted 300 participants and served as a forum between dairy producers, researchers and allied industry. In this global event, participants hailed from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the U.S. Most attended in person, while others joined via a live webcast.
The symposium included eight keynote speakers, who addressed some of the main topics concerning animal welfare.
Those included public awareness, housing, feeding, lameness and pain management. Interspersed amongst the keynote topics were shorter presentations on the latest research being done relating to welfare.
Lunch breaks allowed participants to review research posters, visit company representatives at the trade show and discuss welfare perceptions within and outside the dairy industry.
Interactive workshops focusing on euthanasia of dairy cattle; lameness, lesions and management; low-stress dairy cattle handling and on-farm assessments to improve cow comfort were a highlight for many, as they allowed participants to get further involved in the discussion.
Veterinarian Lance Fox presented an appropriate evening program displaying an enormous amount of preparation in order to achieve one’s goals – he shared his story of climbing Mount Everest. PD
TOP RIGHT: Clemence Nash, a student at the University of Guelph, pointed out a swollen hock on the hind leg of this cow. She led participants through a workshop on scoring cattle for body condition, hock problems and cleanliness.
Another student at the University of Guelph, Alexa Main, explained housing criteria to consider when evaluating welfare issues on dairy farms. Here she addresses the design of a tiestall.
Various bedding materials – from sawdust and straw to recycled solids and sand – were placed in buckets and participants could stand on them to test their own comfort level on each material. Photos by PD Editor Karen Lee.
