ACER Consulting Ltd., Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 5L3; Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada, N1G 2W1.
ACER Consulting Ltd., Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1G 5L3.
J Dairy Sci. 2020 Apr;103(4):3414-3421. doi: 10.3168/jds.2019-17390. Epub 2020 Feb 20.
Farmer decisions surrounding culling have an important effect on the health and welfare of cull cows. The objectives of this study were to describe the self-reported shipment behaviors of Canadian dairy producers and understand farmer perspectives on the factors that were most influential in their decision to cull a cow. A nationwide survey was administered between March and April 2015 that included 192 questions covering producer background information, farm characteristics, biosecurity practices, disease prevalence, calf health, cow welfare, lameness, milking hygiene, reproduction, and Internet and social media use. The survey yielded a 12% response rate; a total of 1,076 respondents (78% of all survey respondents completed the culling section of the survey) were included in this study for analysis. Approximately 80, 51, and 38% of respondents reported shipping at least 1 cow to auction, direct to slaughter, and to another dairy farm in the past 12 mo, respectively. Ability of the cow to remain standing (93% of respondents) and drug withdrawal times (92% of respondents) were identified as the most important factors for consideration when culling cows. The time between culling decision and when the cow was actually transported was longer for lame cows than sick cows; almost 70% of respondents reported that cows culled for illness were typically shipped within 1 wk of culling decision, whereas only 51% of respondents indicated the same was true for lame cows. Last, Canadian dairy producers generally exhibited strong confidence that their culled cows would arrive at slaughter in the same condition as they left, but felt very unsure about knowing the location of their final destination. These results highlight several gaps between producer perceptions and the true situation, and can be used to develop tailored programs and inform policy and regulatory decisions aimed at improving cull cow decisions and cow welfare.
农民的扑杀决策对淘汰牛的健康和福利有重要影响。本研究的目的是描述加拿大奶农的自我报告扑杀行为，并了解影响农民扑杀决策的因素。2015 年 3 月至 4 月期间进行了一项全国性调查，共包含 192 个问题，涵盖了生产者背景信息、农场特征、生物安全措施、疾病流行情况、犊牛健康、奶牛福利、跛行、挤奶卫生、繁殖以及互联网和社交媒体使用情况。调查的回复率为 12%；共有 1076 名受访者（所有调查受访者的 78%完成了扑杀部分的调查）被纳入本研究进行分析。大约 80%、51%和 38%的受访者分别报告在过去 12 个月内至少有 1 头奶牛被运往拍卖、直接屠宰或另一家奶牛场。淘汰奶牛时，牛的站立能力（93%的受访者）和停药时间（92%的受访者）被认为是最重要的考虑因素。淘汰决策和奶牛实际运输之间的时间间隔，对于跛行奶牛比患病奶牛更长；近 70%的受访者报告说，因病淘汰的奶牛通常在淘汰决定后 1 周内被运走，而只有 51%的受访者表示同样适用于跛行奶牛。最后，加拿大奶农普遍对淘汰牛到达屠宰场时的状况与离开时相同充满信心，但对了解其最终目的地的位置却非常不确定。这些结果突出了生产者认知与实际情况之间的几个差距，可以用来制定有针对性的计划，并为改善淘汰牛决策和奶牛福利提供信息，以制定政策和监管决策。
