Animal category: Cattle

The dehorning of calves is a practice that can be difficult for farmers. Managing the pain and inflammation caused by this procedure can make it less stressful, not only for the farmer but also for the animals. This booklet provides up-to-date information on good dehorning practices.

The castration of cattle is a source of pain for the animals. Depending on the method used, this pain can be more or less immediate and/or chronic. Managing pain during castration improves the animal's welfare while making the procedure safer for the operator. This fact sheet, co-produced by a multi-stakeholder working group, describes the main techniques and recommendations for pain management during castration.

The updated IDF Guide on Animal Welfare aims to promote the worldwide implementation of good animal welfare practices in dairy production and refers to key standards (OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code and ISO Technical Specification 34700: 2016). It provides recommendations on skills, the feeding and watering of animals, their physical environment, production practices and health management. To assess levels of animal welfare in dairy production systems, examples of outcome measurement criteria are provided.

OIE standards are internationally recognised as the only science-based standards on the subject to have been adopted by the World Assembly of Delegates. They are regularly updated in line with the evolution of scientific knowledge and are gradually being fleshed out to cover different aspects of welfare. Consultation with Member States as well as with experts and relevant international governmental and non-governmental organisations is guaranteed throughout the drafting process to ensure their relevance in light of the latest scientific knowledge. Each year, the OIE World Assembly of Delegates adopts new or revised draft standards. Standards dealing with animal welfare are not recognised in the WTO SPS Agreement, unlike those dealing with animal health and veterinary public health. This standard addresses the welfare of dairy cattle in commercial production systems.

This Guide to Good Practice is intended to improve animal welfare during transport by providing practical tools to meet the requirements of the Regulations and to propose improvements in practice that go beyond the legislation.
The practices in this guide are based on scientific knowledge and publications and on experience and information gathered from stakeholders. No distinction is made between different types of knowledge producer unless this is considered necessary for a better understanding or verification of the source. Its contents may be used to develop company-specific guidelines or Standard Operating Procedures for transporters or other stakeholders, or as a reference source for practical transport management that respects animal welfare.

This guide has three main objectives:
- To provide, whatever the size of the establishment, a reference tool for professionals intended to guarantee that the regulations currently in force for animal welfare from the time of unloading until they cease to bleed are followed.
- To put forward interpretations of the requirements that are implicit in the Regulations and to translate new scientific knowledge into good practice.
- To provide a methodological tool for animal welfare management by, on the one hand, making recommendations for management and design and, on the other hand, monitoring methods that can be carried out by operators and that allow each production unit to assess the effectiveness of the measures put in place to maximise animal welfare from the moment they are delivered to the moment they are killed.
An opinion published in the Journal officiel de la République Française on 3 April 2014 validated this guide to good practice for the welfare of cattle at the abattoir in its November 2013 version.

This Opinion examines the available information on risks to the welfare of dairy cows in small-scale farming systems in Europe, including the impacts of production diseases. A methodology for assessing welfare in these systems is proposed.

This collection of recommendations on cattle housing pulls together a wide range of scientific data and is based on expert knowledge in a number of disciplines (ethology, climatisation, ergonomics, construction, etc.). It is intended for designers, breeders, builders, etc. of livestock buildings and contains numerous references with calculations relating to the various living areas and equipment.

The Opinion assesses a draft guide and takes into account the available scientific data and practices in other European countries. It identifies scientific and/or regulatory issues and puts forward recommendations supported by scientific evidencefor possible improvements and enhancements to the guide . It also provides answers to a list of detailed questions from the DGAl on particular issues identified by the latter.

Lameness in dairy cows is a worldwide problem, usually a consequence of hoof diseases. Hoof problems have a negative impact on animal health and welfare as well as the economy of the farm. Prevention and early diagnosis of lameness should prevent the development of the disease and consequent high costs of animal treatment. In this review, the most common causes of both infectious and noninfectious lesions are described. Susceptibility to lesions is primarily influenced by the quality of the horn. The quality of the horn is influenced by internal and external conditions such as hygiene, nutrition, hormonal changes during calving and lactation, the animal's age or genetic predisposition. The next part of this review summarizes the basic principles and possibilities of using infrared thermography in the early detection of lameness in dairy cows.