https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0676-475X
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ABSTRACT
Clinical lameness has an impact on animal welfare and profitability in different livestock industries. The objective of this study was to estimate the prevalence and incidence rate of clinical lameness within New Zealand dairy goat farms. Up to 3246 goats on three dairy goat farms were observed 4–5 times over one year. Data on locomotion scores and animal information were collected between June 2019 and June 2020. A 5-point (0–4) locomotion scoring scale was used, where scores 3 and 4 were classified as clinical lameness. The average herd-level prevalence of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 23, 12, and 10%, respectively. The annual incidence rate of clinical lameness for farms A, B, and C were 104, 56, and 55 cases per 100 goat-years, respectively. Lameness appears to be a significant welfare issue, with incidence varying between farms and between goats. Investigating both farm-level and goat-level factors is required to understand the epidemiology of lameness and design evidence-based control and prevention measures. Further investigation should be undertaken to identify variables affecting the goat's odds of becoming clinically lame. This study sets the foundation for future study of lameness in commercial dairy goat farms nationally and internationally.
Acknowledgements
We thank the farmers, farm workers, and hoof trimmers that were involved in this study for their time and respective expertise. We acknowledge Vicki McLean, from the Dairy Goat Co-Operative, who gave us her expertise on dairy goat health in New Zealand and helped us with the design and implementation of the project.
Disclosure statement
The authors declare no conflict of interest. However, one of the authors, Sally-Anne Turner, from Dairy Goat Co-Operative (NZ) Ltd, was involved in the design and collection of data of this study, as well as supervision of the PhD student, however, was not involved in the analyses or interpretation of data and in the original writing of the manuscript.