The treatment of hoof diseases, in particular Phlegmona interdigitalis and Dermatitis digitalis, and the associated use of antibiotics has increased in summering cattle in the canton of Uri and other cantons in recent years. If animal health suffers, it will become increasingly difficult to find suitable herders for Alpine pastures with sanitary problems. These developments need to be prevented for reasons of animal welfare, as well as from an economic, human and veterinary point of view.
The risk factors for hoof and other cattle diseases are largely known, as are preventive and curative measures and strategies at individual farm level. However, the conditions and requirements, especially on larger Alpine farms, are special: animals of different origins are kept together for a short period of time under different husbandry and feeding conditions from those on the farm. To date, there is a lack of efficient approaches for taking specific and systematic measures against the frequent occurrence of Phlegmona interdigitalis and other diseases on summer pasture farms. The aim of the project was therefore to identify the causes of the increasing number of diseases in Alpine livestock and suggest possible solutions. The development of a model guide for drawing up Alpine-specific animal health concepts and the production of information sheets and videos have made it easier to understand the disease and implement measures.
