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Grandin concerned with ‘biological overload’

Animal handling expert Temple Grandin delivered some good news at the International Symposium on Beef Cattle Welfare in Ames, Iowa.

Grandin says she’s seen big improvements in cattle handling at ranches and feedlots across the country.  But Grandin says while handling has improved, she’s now seeing a new problem starting to develop.

“Now we’re getting an animal that’s more difficult to handle—because I’m starting to see some of the leg conformation problems that started happening in pigs 20 years ago,” Grandin says. “They’re too straight, they’re collapsed in the ankle.  Let’s not repeat those mistakes.”

Grandin says some of that is related to what she calls “biological overload”.

“The dairy industry has pushed the dairy cow genetically to the point where she’s having trouble reproducing.  We’ve got to start looking at what’s optimal.  A bunch of leg problems in cattle is not a place where the beef industry wants to go,” she says.

And Grandin believes growth-promoting beta-agonists have also contributed to structural issues in fed cattle.

“If they want to keep those products, they need to use them much more carefully,” Grandin says. “A bunch of stiff, sore cattle showing up at the plant is not acceptable.”

AUDIO: Temple Grandin (4:13 MP3)