Document type : article published in INRAE Productions Animales
Authors: Dominique Pomiès, Caroline Constancis, Julien Jurquet, Isabelle Veissier, Hugues Caillat, Gilles Lagriffoul, Marie Drouet, Clément Fossaert, Yannick Le Cozler
Preview: In France, the dairy cattle, goat and sheep sectors produce over five million young animals every year. A third of these animals are used to renew the herds, while the remainder are fattened in specialized units or exported. How these young animals are farmed, the failure to make best use of them, and the future that awaits them are of increasing concern to the public, consumers, dairy farmers and the wider industry. [...]The purpose of this overview is i) to describe the natural behavior of young animals from the three major dairy species; ii) to review current farming methods for these young stock which will either renew the herd or be used for meat production, and iii) to identify alternative practices to meet the expectations of the public and consumers in terms of animal welfare, as well as those of farmers who seek better public respect for their work and better uses for their animals.
