Document type: web page from the RMT BEA hosted by theIdele
Author: RMT BEA (Joint Technology Network for Animal Welfare)
Preview: Transcripts of two webinars organized by the RMT BEA
[Thursday #1] Animal Welfare Consulting: Where Do We Stand?
The first in the “RMT Animal Welfare Thursdays” series, this webinar focuses on the systemic approach to animal welfare and the relationship between livestock producers and advisors. animal welfare is a socially charged issue, rooted in controversies, scientific uncertainties, and ethical considerations. These factors influence the advisory relationship between a livestock producer and their advisor (livestock advisor, veterinarian, or farm-startup advisor): the exchange may be easy or tense, the topic may be avoided, reliance may be placed solely on the regulatory framework, or the focus may be on animal welfare practices.
This webinar presents the results of two projects funded by CASDAR and supported by RMT One Welfare:
– ACHABA (Brittany Chamber of Agriculture): supporting advisors and farmers in making changes related to animal welfare. Survey of 80 farmers (cattle, small ruminants, pigs, poultry) across four regions, and 9 focus groups involving 68 advisors.
– COLOMBE (ITAVI): supporting professionals in the poultry sector and educators to better address poultry welfare. Perceptions gathered from 920 farmers in training, a group interview and individual interviews with farmers, followed by a group interview with 10 advisors. (…)
[Thursday No. 2] Good–Animal Welfare in the Age of New Technologies: Between Innovations and Prospects
The second RMT BEA Thursday session focused on the use of new technologies for assessing animal welfare. After a review of the Welfare Quality® model and its practical limitations, the session focused on indicators that farmers can actually use, before moving on to future prospects.
On the agenda:
-Computer vision to automate time-based assessments and detect behaviors and abnormalities in young bulls, pigs, and chickens
-Bioacoustics: coughing, sneezing, rales, vocalizations… for the early detection of health or welfare issues
-The limitations and prospects of these technologies: model robustness across farms, annotation quality, and outdoor monitoring
-A look at plant science and new technological frontiers in digital agriculture (sensors, cosmic ray neutron detection, digital twins) with the Naexus RMT.
