A look at bovine welfare--what's good, what's bad, and the lessons within.

Animal Welfare Forum: Bovine Welfare 1369 G morning and welcome to the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Eleventh Annual Animal Welfare Forum. It is my pleasure to welcome you on behalf of the more than 65,000 members of the AVMA. The Animal Welfare Forum is held each year as the highlight of the AVMA’s Animal Welfare Week, which is a series of media events designed to promote the welfare of animals. Throughout the years, the Forum has served as a useful platform for highlighting and exploring important animal welfare concerns affecting many different species. This year the AVMA is pleased to present “Bovine Welfare.” Today’s Forum topics include the evaluation of management practices for their impact on welfare, the welfare of cattle destined for slaughter, dairy cow comfort, dairy heifer replacement, veal calves, beef feedlots, the ethics of livestock shows, and rodeo cattle. Many of the issues we will be discussing are contentious. Furthermore, addressing all these issues during a 1-day Forum is incredibly ambitious. While we don’t pretend to have all the answers, the AVMA’s Animal Welfare Committee has assembled an excellent panel of speakers to review these issues and provide all of us with scientifically based information that we can use to understand and improve the welfare of cattle involved in these industries. Our goal for this Forum, as it has been for all previous Forums, is to promote the well-being of animals. The AVMA is proud of the vital role veterinarians have played in advancing bovine welfare. Welcome