Animal category: Cattle

Heat stress measuring methods in dairy cows

Alessandra Aloia, Aristide Maggiolino, Lucrezia Forte, Pasquale De Palo

Published in 2024

Study exploring predictors other  than the temperature-humidity index (THI) to assess heat stress in cattle. Other early predictors use non-invasive, animal-based strategies, thanks to precision breeding technologies.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Lactation, Living environment, Robustness, Stress

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Review: Rethinking environmental enrichment as providing opportunities to acquire information

I. Veissier, C. Lesimple, V. Brunet, L. Aubé, R. Botreau

Published in 2024

Scientific overview exploring environmental enrichment, designed to improve the welfare and cognitive abilities of animals in captivity. Enrichment provides animals with the means to acquire information by interacting with their environment, thereby promoting adaptation. This approach suggests that complex and varied environments are more enriching than simply prolonging exposure to stimuli, even if the former are neutral or slightly negative.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Fish, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, Learning, training, Living environment

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Attitudes and professional values of veterinarians and veterinary students toward positive welfare states for dairy cattle

M.W. Brunt, D.B. Haley, S.J. LeBlanc, D.F. Kelton

Published in 2024

Study showing that beef veterinarians and veterinary students in Canada have attitudes and professional values that are favorable to positive welfare in dairy cows. However, they are unsure of their own ability to influence changes in current practices to improve welfare. The main barriers identified are practicality, resistance to change and concern for the animal.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Education, Welfare indicators, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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How to concurrently achieve economic, environmental, and animal welfare performances in French suckler cattle farms

Larissa Mysko, Jean-Joseph Minviel, Patrick Veysset, Isabelle Veissier

Published in 2024

Study demonstrating that it is possible to reconcile the needs of economic, environmental and animal welfare performance on suckler cattle farms by synchronizing the animals' nutritional requirements with grass availability. Optimized farming practices, such as the choice of calving season and management of body reserves, are crucial to achieving this "multi-performance".

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Environment, Lactation, Housing, Living environment, One Welfare, Pollution, livestock farming system

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Review - Relational enrichment in ruminants and equines

Xavier Boivin, Ruth Newberry

Published in 2024

Review exploring relational enrichment in ruminants and equines, examining current husbandry practices such as group housing and human-animal interactions. It highlights the importance of social relationships for animal welfare and identifies gaps in research. The study suggests ways to improve these practices, emphasizing the crucial role of farmers in promoting positive human-animal relationships.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep

Keywords:Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Socialization

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The Animal-Welfare Levy

Romain Espinosa, Nicolas Treich

Published in 2024

Article proposing a non-anthropocentric justification for a tax on meat consumption to improve animal welfare. Functioning like a Pigouvian tax, this tax takes into account externalities on farm animals and could make intensive livestock farming unprofitable. Taxes would be particularly high for chickens and pigs, reflecting the differences in welfare between the species.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Livestock buildings, Animal trade, Societal issues, Housing, One Welfare, livestock farming system

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Effects of meloxicam on the welfare of Holstein calves from 6 weeks to 6 months old undergoing amputation dehorning

Jiancheng Qi, Jing Fang, Fangyuan Huang, Zhiqiang Li, Maqsood Ahmed Kumbhar, Hongrui Guo, Zhihua Ren, Yi Geng, Junliang Deng, Zhicai Zuo

Published in 2024

Study evaluating the efficacy of the combination of meloxicam and lidocaine in reducing the adverse effects of dehorning in calves. Results showed that this combination significantly attenuated physiological and inflammatory responses to the procedure, compared with the use of lidocaine alone.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Anxiety, Pain, Mutilation, Fear, Behavioural disorders

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A Review of the Effects of Stress on Dairy Cattle Behaviour

Viktor Jurkovich, Péter Hejel, Levente Kovács

Published in 2024

Scientific review article describing how stress factors (pain, illness, discomfort, etc.) modify the behavior of dairy cows, influencing their feeding habits, social interactions and general welfare. The study explores the effectiveness of the various coping mechanisms used by cows to alleviate stress (physiological adaptations and behavioral responses).

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Pain, Welfare indicators, Lactation, Restraint equipment, Resilience, Robustness, Stress, Behavioural disorders

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Evaluation of candidate data-based welfare indicators for calves in Switzerland

Sibylle Zwygart, Barbara Lutz, Beat Thomann, Dimitri Stucki, Mireille Meylan, Jens Becker

Published in 2024

Article showing that the four principles of Welfare Quality that indicate good animal welfare, namely "good feed", "good housing", "good health" and "appropriate behavior", are not reflected in routinely available data on veal calf farms in Switzerland, even though data for health status assessment is available. If animal welfare is to be inferred from routine data, there is a need to adapt data collection strategies and animal identification methods.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Livestock buildings, Carcass quality, Livestock farming system, Behavioural disorders, Welfare indicators

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Assessment of Production Technologies on Dairy Farms in Terms of Animal Welfare

Marek Gaworski, Pavel Kic

Published in 2024

Scientific review aiming to identify and discuss risk factors in dairy farming that may affect the welfare of dairy cattle and using a One Welfare approach, including the welfare of the farmer and the sustainability of the farm.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Ovines

Keywords: One Welfare,Risk management, Welfare indicators

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