Cull Cows at Ontario

Auction Marts and Provincial Slaughter Facilities

CAHLN Meeting,

June 5, 2017

Todd Duffield, DVM, DVScProfessor, OVC, University of Guelphtduffiel@uoguelph.ca

Spring, 2014OVC Asked to do

Thursday OLEX Cattle Sale

• Great Teaching Opportunity for Students

• Increase Caseload

• Commenced July 24, 2014– I did the 1st Three Visits

Ontario Livestock Exchange(OLEX)

• St. Jacobs Ontario

• Tourist Attraction

• Cull Cow Volume: 400-800 Cows

• Largest Salesbarn in Ontario

Inspection System

• My Experience:– 1990 in Hoard’s Station versus

2014 at St. Jacob’s

– Lay Inspection

– Veterinary Inspection• Decision Options:

– Euthanasia

– Direct to Slaughter

– Ring announcement

– Treat at Salesbarn or Return to Owner

First Cow I checked:Peritonitis, Euthanized

July 24, 2014My first day at OLEX

• I wasn’t prepared for what I saw

– 17 Cows/Calves Examined• 5 Ring announcements (calves)

• 3 Returned Home to Owner

• 4 Direct to Slaughter

• 5 Euthanized

Cows Sold at Auction by Month – 2014-2016

5000

7500

10000

12500

15000

175002014 Total # ofcows at ontarioauction (BFOreports)

2015 Total # ofcows (all wts) atontario auction(BFO reports)

2016 Total # ofcows (all wts) atontario auction(BFO reports)

Trend in Ontario Cull Cow Sales- Average per Month

8500

9000

9500

10000

10500

11000

Cows sold per month

2014

2015

2016

Cows Euthanized at Auction

0.00%0.10%0.20%0.30%0.40%0.50%0.60%0.70%0.80%0.90%1.00%

2014% Cull cowseuthanized atauction

2015 % Cullcows euthanizedat auction

2016 % Cullcows euthanizedat auction

So…How Many Euthanized is Too Many?

How Many Euthanized at Salesyards is Too Many?

• 66 Ontario Veterinarians Polled about a Goal for this in Ontario…

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

<2.0%

<1.0%

<0.5%

<0.2%

<0.1%

54% Goal<0.5%

46% Goal<0.2%

Cows Euthanized at Auctionby Year

0.00%0.10%0.20%0.30%0.40%0.50%0.60%0.70%0.80%0.90%1.00%

2014% Cull cowseuthanized atauction

2015 % Cullcows euthanizedat auction

2016 % Cullcows euthanizedat auction

< 0.4% for 2016 To Date!

Proportion of Incidents by Cause/Finding for ALL cows sold

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

0.16

0.18

Pe

rce

nt (

%)

2014

2015

2016

Main Categories:▪ Lame▪ Down▪ Sick

Reflections after 3 Years at OLEX and Multiple Veterinary

and Producer Meetings…

• Still too Many Cows Euthanized– Lameness

– Moribund

• Producer Education Needed– Culling Decisions

– Euthanasia

• …but We are Making Some Progress!

Auction Mart Direct to Slaughter

0.00%0.20%0.40%0.60%0.80%1.00%1.20%1.40%1.60%1.80%2.00%

2015 % DTScull cows atauction

2016 % DTScull cows atauction

2017 % DTScull cows atauction

Condemnations at Provincial Slaughter

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Cows Light Weight MaleCalves

Veal Calves Steers

Pe

rce

nt

Co

nd

em

nat

ion

s (%

)

2015

2016

Year

Top Reasons for Cull Cow Condemnations

• Endocarditis

• Septicemia

• Peritonitis

• Mucoid Degeneration - Emaciation

• Lymphoma - Cancer

Bacterial Infections

3 Years of Cull Cow Condemnation Reasons

Septicemia

Peritonitis

Neoplasm/Lympho

MucoidDegeneration

Endocarditis

Abscess

Antibiotic Residues at Provincial Slaughter

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

Cows Light Weight MaleCalves

Veal Calves Steers

Pe

rce

nt

Re

sid

ue

s (%

)

2015

2015

Year

Drugs Found at Provincial SlaughterProportion of Total Residue

– Cull Cows

Aminoglycosides

Amphenicols

Beta-Lactams

Fluoroquinolones

Macrolides

NSAIDs

Sulfonamides

Tetracyclines

Proportion of Total Residue– Light Weight Calves

Aminoglycosides

Amphenicols

Beta-Lactams

Fluoroquinolones

Macrolides

NSAIDs

Sulfonamides

Tetracyclines

Cull Dairy Cows

The Problem:

Too Many ‘Broken’ or Lame cows

arriving at Auction Marts

Cull Dairy Cows

The Risk:

• Public Image– Dairy

Producers

– Auction marts

– Dairy Industry

• Cow Welfare

– Pain

– Unnecessary or Prolonged Suffering

• Legal

– Producers

– Truckers

Cull Dairy Cows

• Awareness:– Regulations/Ex

pectations

– Duration of Time from Farm to Slaughter

• Need Improved Decision Making for:

– Timely Treatment

– Appropriate Culling

– Euthanasia

• Euthanasia Training Required– Timeliness– Tools– Technique

The Issues:

Cull Dairy Cows

• Education!– Producers

– Veterinarians

– Truckers

• Enforcement– Producers

– Truckers - CFIA

Solutions:

Shur-Gain – Dairy Management and

Nutrition Conference, 2007

Questions? or

Discussion/Comments