Animal category: Equines

DG SANTE audit report concluding that the official controls carried out by Portugal on sea carriers and livestock vessels prior to loading are adequate and effective in minimising the risk of injury or undue suffering for animals during transport by livestock vessels to third countries.

Report presenting Eurogroup for Animals's vision for the future of agriculture by 2050. It includes the reversal of the plant/animal protein ratio in human food; a net decrease in the number of farm animals; a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by the food industry; improved public health; and greater consideration for the feelings of animals.

Report showing that European countries with the lowest antibiotic use are also those with the highest minimum legal standards for animal welfare, reducing the routine systematic use of antibiotics to a minimum, with 90% of antibiotics administered on an individual basis. It makes recommendations for policy, reduction targets, and animal husbandry practices  that can reduce antibiotic use in pig and poultry production.

Scientific review of the various stress biomarkers most commonly used in animal husbandry and the factors that influence their expression. The focus is on the use of meat biomarkers, which would allow the non-invasive prediction of meat quality, but also on animal stress before slaughter.

Information note from eight European Union countries, including France, opposing the ban on the transport of live animals from member countries. The reasons given are 1. that this would favour imports from third countries with less stringent animal welfare standards, and 2. the difficulty of maintaining the cold chain when transporting meat. The eight countries recommend that enforcement of EU legislation should be strengthened and EU expertise should be shared with third countries to improve animal welfare during transport.

Scientific article providing the results of a survey of competitive and show riders on the risks of damage to the welfare of horses, riders and spectators during equestrian award ceremonies. Riders feel greater stress during warm-up and competition than during the award ceremony, while horses display the greatest stress during the lap of honor. Risk of injury, mostly in the form of kicking by stressed horses, is considered to be higher during prize giving.

Scientific paper testing whether AWIN, scan sampling for behavioural observations, and surveys are effective methods to assess four categories of behavioral indicators for poor welfare: stereotypies, aggression toward humans, lack of responsiveness to the environment, and hypervigilance. It concludes that the 3 methods are complementary and should be used together to properly assess these four categories of indicators.

A scientific review of what is known about the nutrition, physical environment, health and behavioral interactions of horses, these being the first 4 of the 5 domains of the animal welfare model and the last domain, mental state, being inferred from the first 4.

Scientific review that reveals a lack of published studies assessing welfare levels in equines at slaughter, particularly donkeys and mules in low-income countries, and highlights the need to develop an evidence-based knowledge base to improve guidance in this area.

Scientific article testing different feeding methods for horses in order to increase the time spent seeking food and feeding. It finds that the addition of straw to the feed, regardless of the feeding method, will achieve this goal.