Creutzinger Katherine, Pempek Jessica, Habing Gregory, Proudfoot Kathryn, Locke Samantha, Wilson Devon, Renaud David
Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON, Canada.
Department of Animal Sciences, College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States.
Front Vet Sci. 2021 Apr 13;8:661453. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.661453. eCollection 2021.
The care of surplus dairy calves is a significant issue for the United States and Canadian dairy industries. Surplus dairy calves commonly experience poor welfare as evidenced by high levels of mortality and morbidity, and negative affective states resulting from limited opportunities to express natural behaviors. Many of these challenges are a result of a disaggregated production system, beginning with calf management at the dairy farm of origin and ending at a calf-raising facility, with some calves experiencing long-distance transportation and commingling at auction markets or assembly yards in the interim. Thus, the objectives of this narrative review are to highlight specific challenges associated with raising surplus dairy calves in the U.S. and Canada, how these challenges originate and could be addressed, and discuss future directions that may start with refinements of the current system, but ultimately require a system change. The first critical area to address is the management of surplus dairy calves on the dairy farm of origin. Good neonatal calf care reduces the risk of disease and mortality, however, many dairy farms in Canada and the U.S. do not provide sufficient colostrum or nutrition to surplus calves. Transportation and marketing are also major issues. Calves can be transported more than 24 consecutive hours, and most calves are sold through auction markets or assembly yards which increases disease exposure. Management of calves at calf-raisers is another area of concern. Calves are generally housed individually and fed at low planes of nutrition, resulting in poor affective states and high rates of morbidity and mortality. Strategies to manage high-risk calves identified at arrival could be implemented to reduce disease burden, however, increasing the plane of nutrition and improving housing systems will likely have a more significant impact on health and welfare. However, we argue the current system is not sustainable and new solutions for surplus calves should be considered. A coordinated and holistic approach including substantial change on source dairy farms and multiple areas within the system used to market and raise surplus dairy calves, can lead to more sustainable veal and beef production with improved calf outcomes.
多余奶牛犊牛的照料问题对美国和加拿大的奶牛业而言是一个重大问题。多余的奶牛犊牛普遍福利状况不佳，高死亡率和发病率以及因表达自然行为的机会有限而产生的负面情绪状态便是明证。这些挑战中有许多是由于生产系统分散所致，从犊牛原产奶牛场的管理开始，到犊牛饲养设施结束，在此期间，一些犊牛要经历长途运输，并在拍卖市场或集贸市场混群。因此，本叙述性综述的目的是突出在美国和加拿大饲养多余奶牛犊牛所面临的具体挑战、这些挑战的根源及应对方法，并探讨未来的方向，这些方向可能始于对现有系统的改进，但最终需要系统变革。首先要解决的关键领域是犊牛原产奶牛场中多余奶牛犊牛的管理。良好的新生犊牛护理可降低疾病和死亡风险，然而，美国和加拿大的许多奶牛场并未为多余的犊牛提供足够的初乳或营养。运输和销售也是主要问题。犊牛可能会连续运输超过24小时，而且大多数犊牛是通过拍卖市场或集贸市场出售的，这增加了疾病感染风险。犊牛饲养场对犊牛的管理是另一个令人担忧的领域。犊牛通常单独饲养，且营养水平较低，导致情绪不佳，发病率和死亡率较高。可以实施针对到达时识别出的高危犊牛的管理策略，以减轻疾病负担，然而，提高营养水平和改善饲养系统可能会对健康和福利产生更显著的影响。不过，我们认为当前的系统不可持续，应该考虑针对多余犊牛的新解决方案。一种协调一致的整体方法，包括原产奶牛场的重大变革以及用于销售和饲养多余奶牛犊牛的系统内的多个领域的变革，可带来更可持续的小牛肉和牛肉生产，并改善犊牛的状况。
