| 2019-01-16 |    |
No More Lame Excuses
Work has begun on a new £1 million research project to discover what causes lameness in dairy cows.
On any given day, lameness affects around one in three milking cows in the UK, costing the industry around £250m a year.
The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) is funding new scientific research project led by Scotland’s Rural College to generate a deep understanding of the reasons dairy cows become lame.
The multi-institutional project is being run in collaboration with the University of Liverpool and the Royal Veterinary College, University of London.
The three-year project is scheduled to be completed by November 2021.
Professor Georgios Banos of SRUC, who is heading up the project, described lameness as “one of the most serious and debilitating cow conditions our dairy farmers have to face”.
He added:
“In addition
to pain and discomfort to the animal, lameness is associated with
decreased milk production and inflated farm costs. Among cows raised
in the same environment, some become lame while others do not. Understanding
the reasons behind this will help us develop targeted preventive practices
contributing to enhanced animal welfare and farm profitability.”
The project will combine expertise in farm animal breeding and genomics, animal health, veterinary medicine, biotechnology, molecular pathology, epidemiology and bioinformatics.
Dr Androniki Psifidi, Lecturer in Veterinary Clinical Genetics at the
Royal Veterinary College, said:
“For the first time, cutting-edge technologies
will be applied to develop new tools to control this important animal health
and welfare issue. We are very enthusiastic about this project and we anticipate
that it will make a big difference for both the animals and the sustainability
of the sector.”
Professor George Oikonomou from the University of Liverpool
said:
“This truly collaborative approach will further our understanding
of lameness in dairy cattle and can lead to novel preventive and treatment
strategies.”
Professor Banos said:
“We envisage outcomes leading to holistic
solutions to the problem.”
