Current attitudes of bovine practitioners, claw-trimmers and farmers in Switzerland to pain and painful interventions in the feet in dairy cattle.
The attitudes of bovine practitioners, claw-trimmers and farmers towards painful therapeutic claw-trimming of dairy cattle were surveyed and differences between the respondents were assessed. A total of 77 farmers and 32 claw-trimmers were interviewed, and 137 bovine practitioners completed an equivalent online survey. No veterinary consultation for common painful interventions in the feet of cattle was reported by 52% of farmers (i.e. procedures in these herds were performed without local anaesthesia). Only ≈30% of practitioners always carried out such interventions under local anaesthesia and, in general, practitioners considered pain reduction to the lowest possible level less important than did farmers. Furthermore, 47% of practitioners and 33% of claw-trimmers, compared to only 11% of farmers, agreed with the statement that the cost of pain management was a major concern for farmers. There was a particular lack of awareness by farmers regarding the obligation to carry out painful therapeutic claw-trimming under analgesia and the application of local anaesthesia during the trimming of sole ulcers was considered reasonable by significantly fewer farmers (41.6%) and claw-trimmers (46.9%), than practitioners (78.6%). Overall, the attitudes of those involved in painful therapeutic claw-trimming contrasted with Swiss national legislation and with farmer opinion on the importance of reducing pain to the lowest level possible.
Clinic for Ruminants, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne 3012, Switzerland.
Johanna
J
Becker
Martin
M
Reist
Katharina
K
Friedli
Dirk
D
Strabel
Marianne
M
Wüthrich
Adrian
A
Steiner
D000822:Animal Husbandry / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D005528:Foot / Q000473:pathology; D005534:Foot Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D010146:Pain / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000662:veterinary*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013557:Switzerland / Q000453:epidemiology; D018634:Veterinarians