From veterinary practice to science: the transformation of dairy cow lameness in Britain, c.1930-1987

This article offers the first social historical account of lameness in dairy cows, a problem that is widely regarded as one of the most significant threats to their welfare, health and productivity today. Grounded in detailed, critical analysis of original historical documents, it describes the changing manifestations of lameness in Britain from c.1930-1987, as observed, investigated and managed by British veterinarians. It highlights the low inter-war profile of lameness, and how, as dairy farming intensified in the decades after World War II, it was transformed from a sporadic problem of locomotion caused largely by 'foul in the foot', into a costly, multi-factorial, herd-level phenomenon associated with diverse foot pathologies. The rising prevalence and complexity of lameness, and its association with new farming practices, was first noticed and investigated by veterinary clinicians, who generated new knowledge of its causes and effects. Although largely forgotten today, their work predated and shaped research performed subsequently by veterinary scientists, who for reasons that will be explained, did not engage significantly with dairy cow lameness until the late 1970s, two decades after clinicians first drew attention to its changing characteristics.