Critical comments on the current breeding goal in German Holsteins: The energy deficit of high-yielding dairy cows in early lactation

Performance of dairy cows in Germany has sharply increased, especially in recent years; this is due to successful selection for higher milk yield, with improved feeding, husbandry and veterinary care. Mean performance of more than 12,000 kg of milk / cow / year are no longer a rarity on herd basis. In the last few decades, mainly Holstein cattle have been selected consistently on high milk production in early lactation, coupled with an increasing energy deficit in early lactation. Avoiding further unwanted developments with respect to negative energy balance (NEB) - both in terms of extent and duration of the first third of lactation - therefore requires consistent observance of this trait already in the breeding goal. Another rapid increase in NEB, particularly in high-yielding early lactation, should be treated as cruelty to animals in the future. There therefore is an urgent need for a concretization of Section 11b of the German Animal Welfare Act (TierSchG) in view of modern dairy cattle breeding.