Musculoskeletal Disorders in Farm Animals: Lameness, Welfare, and Productivity
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 March 2026 | Viewed by 815
Special Issue Editor
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Over the past thirty years, the general public, livestock farmers, veterinary surgeons, and researchers have become much more aware of lameness in cattle and sheep. Not only is the compromised welfare of lame animals an ethical issue, but their poor health and lowered productivity are a threat to sustainable livestock farming worldwide. Whilst more intensive farming practices have been blamed for a higher prevalence of lameness generally, they cannot be blamed where cattle and sheep are managed extensively, yet lameness at a herd and flock level still adversely impacts animal welfare and production. At the same time, the extent of research into the subject has expanded greatly: epidemiological studies have identified more precisely significant risk factors for farms and the economic costs related to lameness; biomechanical research has identified associations between the anatomy of the foot, husbandry, and physical pressure applied to the laminae that create pathological changes within the foot; and microbiological science has identified some potential pathogens associated with infectious causes of lameness, which may be a foundation for preventing such diseases. Meanwhile, there are many unregulated on-farm technicians who trim cows' and sheep’s feet in a bid to reduce the incidence of lameness so that the standards laid down for farm quality assurance schemes can be met upon annual farm inspection.
The widespread use of antibiotics to treat infectious lameness is being challenged, while the direct involvement of veterinary surgeons to control livestock disease on farms is falling. Hence, there is a need in the current economic and political climate to reassess the impact of lameness occurring in ruminants and indicate where future research efforts should be directed. As demand on the human food chain increases worldwide and the inevitable consequences of climate change become more obvious, the pressures on livestock farmers to provide more beef, lamb, and milk in a more sustainable way will increase inexorably. We need to know how to move forward at all levels in the food production industry—especially with cattle and sheep.
The treatment of orthopaedic cases in farmed livestock has also progressed, especially bone fractures in both adult and young stock. However, little evidence has been published on the cost-effectiveness for the farmer of any significant improvements in surgical techniques to treat bone fractures, whether within university clinics/hospitals as referral cases or in general veterinary farm animal practice.
Dr. Richard Murray
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- animal welfare
- lameness
- cattle
- sheep
- risk factors
- control
- prevention
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