Abstract
Antimicrobial treatments are regularly used in the management of lameness in dairy cattle at both individual and herd levels. However, individual treatments may be prescribed and administered without specific indication and the examination and corrective trimming of the affected digit. Effective non-antibiotic alternatives are also available for use in foot baths as a component of herd level control programmes for infectious lameness. The focus of any control strategy must be on lameness prevention and prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment of any cases. This article explores how antimicrobial use in the treatment and control of bovine lameness can be made more responsible and sustainable.