Knauss Marlena, Adams Cindy L, Orsel Karin
Department of Production Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Department of Veterinary Clinical and Diagnostic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Feb 8;9:812710. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.812710. eCollection 2022.
Lameness in dairy cattle poses both an animal welfare and economic threat to dairy farms. Although the Canadian dairy industry has identified lameness as the most important health issue, lameness prevalence in the province of Alberta has not decreased over the last decade. Factors related to lameness have been reported, but the prevalence remains high. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate dairy producers' perceptions on lameness and how these perceptions influence lameness prevalence in their cows. Qualitative interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with nine dairy producers in Alberta, Canada presenting farms with a wide variety of lameness prevalence. Thematic analysis of these interviews revealed five major themes, as well as five distinct types of producers regarding their perceptions. All nine producers mentioned similar challenges with lameness prevention and control. Identifying lameness, taking action, delays in achieving success, various approaches to prevention and control strategies, and differences between farms were the challenges encountered. However, producers' attitudes when dealing with these challenges varied. We concluded that understanding producers' perceptions is essential as no "one size fits all", when advising them regarding how to address lameness, as guidance and support will be most successful when it is aligned with their viewpoint.
奶牛跛足对奶牛场的动物福利和经济都构成了威胁。尽管加拿大乳制品行业已将跛足确定为最重要的健康问题，但在过去十年中，艾伯塔省的跛足患病率并未下降。与跛足相关的因素已有报道，但患病率仍然很高。因此，本研究旨在调查奶农对跛足的看法以及这些看法如何影响他们奶牛的跛足患病率。对加拿大艾伯塔省的九位奶农进行了开放式问题的定性访谈，这些奶农所在的农场跛足患病率各不相同。对这些访谈的主题分析揭示了五个主要主题，以及关于他们看法的五种不同类型的生产者。所有九位生产者都提到了在跛足预防和控制方面类似的挑战。识别跛足、采取行动、取得成功的延迟、预防和控制策略的各种方法以及农场之间的差异是所遇到的挑战。然而，生产者在应对这些挑战时的态度各不相同。我们得出结论，了解生产者的看法至关重要，因为在就如何解决跛足问题向他们提供建议时，没有“一刀切”的方法，当指导和支持与他们的观点一致时，才会最成功。
