Table 1.
Estimates of the number of dairy cattle affected by, sold with, and died with severe conditions based on data reported in the 2014 National Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) Health and Management Practices on U.S. Dairy Operations report [4]. Number of cows affected based on NAHMS estimates applied to the total number of lactating cows (9,399,000 head) in the US in 2018 [18].
| Severe Conditions | % Cows Affected 1 | Estimated # of Cows Affected 2 | % Successful Recovery 1 | % of Cows Removed (Not Euthanized) 1 | # of Cows that Should Have Been Euthanized but Were Marketed 2,3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cancer eye | 0.20% | 18,798 | 36.60% | 36.20% | 6805 |
| Bloat | 0.30% | 28,197 | 54.50% | 16.20% | 4568 |
| Bloody gut | 0.30% | 28,197 | 20.60% | 36.10% | 10,179 |
| Downer | 2.20% | 206,778 | 22.40% | 19.10% | 39,495 |
| Lame | 16.80% | 1,579,032 | 84.20% | 14.70% | 232,118 |
| 4 Severely lame | 7.00% | 657,930 | 5.90% | 38,818 | |
| Total Affected | 331,982 |
1 Values from [4]; 2 Calculated values using 9,399,000 head as total lactating dairy cow population; 3 These conditions are considered indicators of euthanasia in various industry guidelines, although provisions for timeliness in these guidelines is generally provided [5,8]; 4 Figures for severely lame cows are estimated based on published literature [17] as a percentage of reported lameness prevalence reported in the NAHMS data [4].