Surgical Castration of Dairy Cows as a Strategy to Reduce Mounting-Related Injuries: Insights from Farmers and Veterinarians in France
Year: 2025
Type: conference-paper
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Mounting during estrus is a major cause of musculoskeletalinjuries in dairy cows, often leading to euthanasia. Cull cows,cyclic for months before removal, increase this risk. This studyassessed farmers’ and veterinarians’ perceptions of these inju-ries and evaluated ovariectomy as a preventive tool. Two surveyswere conducted in 2024 and distributed to both veterinariansand dairy farmers. A total of 80 farmers and 95 veterinariansresponded. The surveys, hosted on Google Forms, included bothclosed- and open- ended questions, multiple- choice items, etc.The veterinarians’ survey was published among members of aveterinary technical group, and the farmers’ survey was sentby the veterinarians to their dairy farmer clients. Most farmers(96%) reported estrus behavior in cull cows. Traumatic inju-ries affected an average of 5.4% of cows per herd annually, withmounting and slippery flooring identified as the main causes.Only 21% of farmers had used ovariectomy, but 56% expressedinterest. Half of the veterinarians had performed ovariectomies,mainly via the vaginal route with bolt- elastic ligature, report-ing few complications. The main indications were estrus sup-pression and milk prolongation. Compared to the 2012 surveyby Chastant, little change was noted in castration practices.Barriers remain: low client demand, limited communicationand insufficient training. Immunocastration, although unau-thorised in France, sparked strong farmer interest due to its non-invasivenature. These results highlight ovariectomy as relevantbut underused. Raising practitioner awareness could promotewider adoption to reduce trauma- related losses.
Source: HAL
Institution: Oniris
Language: English
Subfield: Animal Science and Zoology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7206677902