Vaccination in dairy cattle: an animal welfare practice known to producers?

Abstract

In Brazil, animal welfare has been neglected for a long time, however, the topic is in a prominent position, due to worldwide recommendations for the consumption of animal foods. One of the most discussed approaches among those cited in the five animal welfare freedoms is maintaining the health of these animals. This item includes vaccination and adequate water management for dairy cattle. This work aimed to evaluate the perception and knowledge of rural dairy cow producers in the micro-region of Frederico Westphalen – RS, about mandatory vaccinations for dairy cattle as well as water management aimed at animal welfare on their properties. It was possible to observe that although, most of the producers know the vaccination scheme of the animals, there is still a great deficiency in the differentiation of mandatory and non-mandatory vaccines, above all, in the willingness to know the diseases that affect the local herd.