Farm Animal Welfare

As the profile of farm animal welfare rises within food production chains, in response both to consumer demand and greater ethical engagement with the lives of animals, animal welfare is increasingly being commodified by various foodchain actors. That is to say that, over and above regulatory or assurance scheme compliance, welfare conditions and criteria are being used as a ‘value-added’ component or distinctive selling point for food products, brands or even particular manufacturers and retailers. We argue in this paper that such a commodification process has major implications both for the way in which farm animal welfare is defined and assessed (with greater emphasis being placed either on those welfare elements that lend themselves to commodification processes or on those that respond to consumer interpretations of what ‘good’ welfare might be at a particular time) and for the ways in which farm animal welfare is articulated and presented to food consumers as a component of product value or quality.

While seeking novel food sources to feed the increasing population of the globe, several alternatives have been discussed, including algae, fungi or in vitro meat. The increasingly propagated usage of farmed insects for human nutrition raises issues regarding food safety, consumer information and animal protection. In line with law, insects like any other animals must not be reared or manipulated in a way that inflicts unnecessary pain, distress or harm on them. Currently, there is a great need for research in the area of insect welfare, especially regarding species-specific needs, health, farming systems and humane methods of killing. Recent results from neurophysiological, neuroanatomical and behavioral sciences prompt caution when denying consciousness and therefore the likelihood of presence of pain and suffering or something closely related to it to insects. From an animal protection point of view, these issues should be satisfyingly solved before propagating and establishing intensive husbandry systems for insects as a new type of mini-livestock factory farming.

The aim of this study is to gather information about the possibility of including the haircoat condition as an animal-based indicator in an on-farm welfare assessment protocol foradult dairy goats. Validity was tested in two repetitions performed in Portugal and Italy,in order to increase the sample size. Two homogeneous groups of 24 adult dairy goatswith rough hair coat (RH: matted, rough or scurfy hair) and 24 goats with normal hair coat(NH: shiny and sheen hair, homogeneous and well adherent to the body) were subjected togeneral clinical examination, evaluation of body condition, collection of hair, faecal samplesand skin scraping. RH goats showed a significantly poorer body condition compared to NHgoats, with a higher percentage of very thin goats by sternum area palpation (P < 0.01) andby lumbar area palpation (P < 0.001). Moreover, RH goats also showed mineral deficienciesor surplus that may lead to a consistent loss of weight (Mg, Fe: P < 0.001; K, Ca, Al, Ti, Na:P < 0.01). RH goats showed a higher prevalence of abnormal lung sounds compared to NHgoats (P < 0.001). Inter-observer reliability was tested in 10 farms in Portugal and 10 farmsin Italy by two assessors per country demonstrating that hair coat assessment is highlyreliable (P = 0.901; P < 0.001). Results show that hair coat condition is a valid and reliableindicator of goat welfare to be included in on-farm welfare assessment protocols.

Background: The sustainable management of animal health and welfare is of increasing importance to consumers and a key topic in the organic farming movement. Few systematic studies have been undertaken investigating farmers' local knowledge related to this issue. Ethnoveterinary medicine (EVM) is a discipline focusing on local knowledge and folk methods in veterinary medicine, however most ethnoveterinarian studies primarily address the treatment of animal diseases. Very few studies have explored prophylactic methods. Methods: An ethnoveterinary research project in Eastern Tyrol (Austria) was conducted in 2004 and 2005 to gather information about local knowledge of animal husbandry from 144 informants, with the emphasis on plants that maintain livestock health and welfare.

Simple Summary: Public attitudes towards cow welfare and cow shelters (locally known as gaushalas) in India have been little understood in the contemporary context; however, there is a plethora of historical accounts about the reverence of cows and existence of cow shelters in the Indian society. India faces an overpopulation of street cows, and the importance of the cow shelters to house these old, infertile and abandoned cows is of great interest. We conducted a survey of the attitudes of the Indian public towards cows and cow shelters in six states of India, where we found significant demographic differences in terms of age, gender, marital status, income levels, education levels, religion, level of religiosity, and place of residence. Key differences in the attitudes of the public towards cows and cow shelters across the demographic profiles delineated in this study were elucidated, which can be incorporated into initiatives to improve cow welfare in shelters. This will strengthen public engagement to successfully manage these cow shelters using modern scientific concepts of animal welfare-based management in order to perpetuate these unique institutions in a sustainable way. Abstract: Public attitudes towards cows and cow shelters in India need to be assessed in the contemporary context, as India is facing an overpopulation of street cows, leading to traffic hazards, public health issues, and pollution. We investigated the attitudes of the general public in India towards cow welfare in general and cow shelters (gaushalas) in particular. Eight hundred and twenty-five members of the public, residing in the vicinity of 54 cow shelters, were interviewed for this purpose. Their perception of animal welfare centred on animal care, cows as goddesses and mothers, and doing things properly. More than half visited a shelter daily for religious reasons. Most believed that cow shelters were the best way to manage the stray cow population and felt a community responsibility towards all breeds of cows for animal welfare reasons. Space availability for the cows was the key welfare issue voiced. Older people were more likely to identify animal welfare and culture as the main reason for sheltering cows. Better educated, wealthier, and more religious people visited the shelters most, rating religion and breeding higher as the shelter's main purpose. Males favoured indigenous cow breeds more than females. Village respondents were more likely to consider the facilities adequate compared with country town and urban respondents. In contrast to married respondents, single people were more likely to say that they visited for leisure rather than for religious purposes. The survey indicated that the Indian community was generally supportive of cow sheltering and that visits to the shelters helped them to know that unwanted cattle were being well cared for.

Welfare assessment can play multiple roles in the path to welfare improvement. In the dairy goat area, identification of the main welfare problems across countries and different production systems is needed. By the application of a prototype welfare assessment protocol, based on animal-based indicators, we aimed to provide an insight into the main welfare problems affecting intensively kept dairy goats in Portugal. Thirty farms, organised in three size categories, were assessed. The main areas of concern were claw overgrowth, queuing at feeding and hindquarter dirtiness, with larger farms heading higher concerns. Additionally, this paper aimed to investigate indicators’ consistency over time. Ten of the 30 farms were revisited four months later, during which no major husbandry changes were made. Our results showed an overall consistency. This study can help define intervention thresholds or minimum legal levels for each indicator, by determining their overall prevalence.