Animal category: Sheep

Advancing the quantitative characterization of farm animal welfare

Harriet Bartlett, Andrew Balmford, Mark A. Holmes, James L. N. Wood

Published in 2023

Paper developing welfare indicators for use in life cycle assessment (LCA) and different ways of aggregating them, then testing them on British pig farms. It shows that farms in the same LCA class have the same types of quality labels, and that the details of the way in which LCA welfare measures are established have little impact on the classification of farms based on their welfare levels.

Document Types: Scientific paper

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

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Environment, Welfare indicators, Living environment

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Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/372 of 17 February 2023 laying down rules on the recording, storing and sharing of written records of official controls performed on livestock vessels, on contingency plans for livestock vessels in the event of emergencies, on the approval of livestock vessels and on minimum requirements applicable to exit points (Text with EEA relevance)

EU Commission

Published in 2023

Implementing regulation laying down the necessary necessary for carrying out inspections on vessels carrying livestock. It creates a Europe-wide electronic database so that all data required for inspections is centralised.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Pigs

Keywords:Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Final report of an audit of Spain carried out from 22 March to 26 July 2022 in order to evaluate animal welfare controls during transport by livestock vessel to non-EU countries

EU Commission

Published in 2023

DG SANTE audit report concluding that Spain has significantly improved its system of official controls since the previous Commission audit. However, veterinary inspectors do not always have sufficient knowledge or support to carry out controls properly and ports do not have facilities to allow animals to wait in good conditions if they are delayed.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Pigs

Keywords:Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Final report of an audit of Portugal carried out from 14 March to 4 July 2022 in order to evaluate animal welfare controls during transport by livestock vessel to non-EU countries

EU Commission

Published in 2023

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.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Pigs

Keywords:Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Cognitive Enrichment and Welfare: Current Approaches and Future Directions

Fay E. Clark

Published in 2017

Scientific review of the different forms of cognitive enrichment that have been tested for laboratory, farm and zoo animals. It identifies research needs and proposes new indicators for testing.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Wild animals, Sheep, Pigs, Rodents, Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Living environment

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Improving animal welfare status and meat quality through assessment of stress biomarkers: A critical review

Pavan Kumar, Muideen Adewale Ahmed, Abubakar Ahmed Abubakar, Muhammad Nizam Hayat, Ubedullah Kaka, Mokrish Ajat, Yong Meng Goh, Awis Qurni Sazili

Published in 2022

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.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Carcass quality, Welfare indicators

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Revision of animal transport legislation - an essential part of the food production - Information from the Portuguese delegation on behalf of the French, Greek, Irish, Latvian, Lithuanian, Portuguese, Romanian and Spanish delegations

General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union

Published in 2023

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.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

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

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Stress, Transport

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State Policies for Farm Animal Welfare in Production Practices of U.S. Livestock and Poultry Industries: An Overview

Danielle J. Ufer

Published in 2022

Report describing the current status of U.S. policies related to practices that may impact farm animal welfare, the extent of their implementation and geographic coverage, and the legal environment and challenges these policies have faced.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Bovines, Ovines, Porcines, Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues, Human-animal relationships

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Sénat : réponse écrite à la question n°01929 : Règles régissant l’abattage des animaux de consommation

Question: Jean-Louis Masson (Moselle - NI) Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2022

Answer to a question on why, given that several European Union member countries have banned ritual slaughter involving the cutting of the throats of live of animals for human consumption, such bans should be deemed compatible with European law in some countries but not in France.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

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

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress

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The Social Construction of Narratives and Arguments in Animal Welfare Discourse and Debate

Mukhtar Muhammad, Jessica E. Stokes, Lisa Morgans, Louise Manning

Published in 2022

Scientific review analyzing how narrative discourse and the presentation of arguments contribute to the social construction of representations of farm animal welfare in the scientific community. The authors examine the scientific literature and analyse it according to 5 narrative points of view. Depending on the point of view, the reasons given for why farmed animals should lead decent lives are different.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Cattle, Goats, Equines, Sheep, Fish, Pigs, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Societal issues

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