Timely Euthanasia in the United States Dairy Industry-Challenges and a Path Forward

Details

• Personal Author:
  Edwards-Callaway LN ; Roman-Muniz IN ; Walker JB
• Description:
  Euthanasia is a critical component of livestock production systems, providing producers, veterinarians, and caretakers a way to alleviate animal suffering. Although the intention is to keep all animals healthy, there are times when an animal must be euthanized when chances of recovery are low, the animal's pain is not manageable, and/or its quality of life has deteriorated. The timeliness of euthanasia is an equally critical component of animal welfare. Activist groups have called out the dairy industry on this issue and the data suggests the untimeliness of euthanasia on dairy farms is an area in need of significant improvement. Failure to make timely euthanasia decisions impacts cow welfare and has a negative effect on the dairy business and caretaker. There are many factors influencing timely euthanasia decisions, which may be why effectively managing euthanasia on dairies can be a challenge. Factors impacting euthanasia decisions include caretaker training, availability of protocols, treatment decisions, quality of life assessment, human-animal bond, and economic influences. The dairy industry must develop effective resources to ensure a culture of care that supports timely euthanasia as a priority. This review discusses some of the factors impacting timely euthanasia decisions and proposes a path forward to improvement. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Agriculture Decision Making Health Personnel Livestock Occupational Health Safety Veterinarians
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Workers Animal Husbandry Workers Author Keywords: Culling Cattle Dairy Cattle Decision Making Human-animal Bond Livestock Industry Timely Euthanasia Veterinary Medicine Welfare

  More +
• ISSN:
  2076-2615
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  71
• Volume:
  10
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070907
• Citation:
  Animals 2020 Jan; 10(1):71
• Contact Point Address:
  Lily N. Edwards-Callaway, Department of Animal Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1171, USA
• Email:
  lily.edwards-callaway@colostate.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Colorado State University - Ft. Collins
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20030915
• Source Full Name:
  Animals
• End Date:
  20270914
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:8cc2627815c357f6a6b760485c08bd30303bfafe18310d8092227663a7a89eae880fd580a5edc10d5162db38d5a1db4a86ae9992ef61aaaa081745ad1c94bd43
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209029/cdc_209029_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 284.67 KB ]