Animal category: Poultry

Review highlighting the growing interest in positive animal welfare indicators, but noting a lack of research in aquaculture.

A study showing that sternum injuries in laying hens are associated with a lower frequency of access to perches and elevated resources, without necessarily reducing the duration of their use.

Study showing that free-range systems and enrichment improve the welfare of slow-growing broiler chickens as well as certain meat quality parameters, despite a lower final weight compared to animals raised in conventional systems.

Systematic review showing that the effects of beak trimming on poultry welfare vary: the practice may reduce mortality, but it leads to morphological and behavioral changes, corroborating inconsistent potential benefits. 

Literature review concluding that the assessment of animal welfare in livestock production should prioritize animal-based measures — particularly behavioral indicators — in order to better understand an animal’s mental state and daily experiences. Current assessment methods still fail to incorporate positive welfare and quality of life sufficiently.

A special issue of the journal *Innovations Agronomiques* featuring nine articles on the topic of sustainable livestock farming that respects animal welfare and health

A scientific review highlighting significant concerns regarding the welfare of ducks subjected to force-feeding, particularly due to digestive lesions, liver hypertrophy and dysfunction, locomotor disorders, and increased mortality.

Article highlighting the need to examine ethical issues beyond the scope of livestock farming practices that are raised by the use of Computer Vision and AI to monitor animal welfare. 

Meta-analysis showing that organic farming does not consistently have a more positive effect on animal welfare than conventional farming. The results would appear to indicate that  factors relating to management have a greater influence on animal welfare than the farming system itself.

Concept article proposing to adapt the concept of affective balance, based on the balance between scales of positive and negative emotions, to the integrated assessment of animal welfare..