Animal category: Poultry

Alternative Bedding Materials for Poultry: Availability, Efficacy, and Major Constraints

Siaka Diarra, Sonny Lameta, Falaniko Amosa, Sanjay Anand

Published in 2021

A scientific review of alternative materials to wood shavings and sawdust for use as poultry litter, including corncobs, straw and hay, sand, shredded paper, rice husks, peanut shells and gypsum. Consideration is given to their cost, availability, capacity to absorb and adsorb moisture, and the extent to which they allow birds to express their natural behaviour.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Living environment

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Traumatic Injuries Detected during Post-Mortem Slaughterhouse Inspection as Welfare Indicators in Poultry and Rabbits

Lenka Valkova, Eva Voslarova, Vladimir Vecerek, Petra Dolezelova, Veronika Zavrelova, Claire Weeks

Published in 2021

Scientific paper presenting a very large-scale Czech retrospective analysis of traumatic lesions in poultry and rabbits detected post-mortem at abattoirs. It reveals a high incidence of limb lesions in chickens and rabbits, and on the thorax in rabbits, exposing the need for reexamination of rearing conditions, and of housing and/or handling before slaughter in particular, in the Czech Republic.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords: Housing, Living environment, Breeding and rearing systems,Pain

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Projet de guide de bonnes pratiques de protection animale en abattoirs de volailles – Avis révisé de l’Anses – Rapport révisé d’expertise collective

Anses

Published in 2021

Revised Opinion from Anses and revised collective expertise report on the draft guide to good welfare practices in poultry abattoirs. Particular aims are to assess its compliance with Regulation 1099/2009/EC and its logic and consistency, to identify the points to be addressed in light of new scientific knowledge, and to propose possible improvements.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Awareness, Pain, Stress

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French Assemblée Nationale: Written answer to question n°39377: Major system failures in abattoirs

Question: Ms Danièle Obono (La France insoumise - Paris). Answer: French Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Published in 2021

Written answer to a parliamentary question on the measures taken by the French Ministry of Agriculture and Food in respect of the failings found in abattoirs  and whether a general audit of French abattoirs is under consideration, along with the compulsory publication of annual reports on compliance with standards and regulations.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

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

Keywords:Awareness, Pain, Societal issues, Fear, Stress

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The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Assessing Affective States in Livestock

Suresh Neethirajan

Published in 2021

A scientific review of the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and then assess emotions in livestock.  These developments call for a multidisciplinary approach that combines affective computing, bioengineering and applied ethology to overcome both theoretical and practical obstacles.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Modelling

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Enhancing the value of meat inspection records for broiler health and welfare surveillance: longitudinal detection of relational patterns

S. N. Buzdugan, P. Alarcon, B. Huntington, J. Rushton, D. P. Blake, J. Guitian

Published in 2021

A scientific paper that uses data from UK abattoir broiler meat inspection records to highlight relationships between different conditions leading to condemnation of batches that would be useful for monitoring animal health and welfare. It highlights relationships that suggest the presence of syndromes in certain months of the year, potentially providing a basis on which to identify surveillance indicators for broiler producers to use.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Carcass quality, Processing

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La fin de l’élimination des poussins mâles programmée pour 2022

Christophe Violette

Published in 2021

Article reviewing the ban on the crushing of male chicks that will come in on 1 January 2022 in France, and describing the in ovo sexing method that is advocated as an alternative by the French Government. However, this method entails a significant financial cost for breeders, that will partly be covered by the State.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Pain, Societal issues, Breeding and rearing

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Computational Fluid Dynamics Analysis of Alternative Ventilation Schemes in Cage-Free Poultry Housing

Long Chen, Eileen E. Fabian-Wheeler, John M. Cimbala, Dan Hofstetter, Paul Patterson

Published in 2021

Scientific paper presenting and testing computational fluid dynamics models under 4 different sets of ventilation conditions to simulate airflow in cage-free chicken houses. The transition to cage-free rearing calls for changes to environmental conditions to ensure the best quality of animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Housing, Living environment, Stress

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Bien-être animal : vers un label européen ?

Vie Publique Editorial Board

Published in 2021

Article summarising the main findings of a study by the European Parliament Research Service (EPRS) on animal welfare legislation and the EU labelling project. In the view of the EPRS, the legislation is outdated because of structural changes that have occurred in production systems and because it does not allow for recognition of the fact that animals are sentient beings. Europe-wide labelling is viewed as the best response to the increasing number of labelling systems now operating among Member States.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

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

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Good animal welfare by design: An approach to incorporate animal capacities in engineering design

H.J.E. van Weeghel, A.P. Bos, M.H. Jansen, W.W. Ursinus, P.W.G. Groot Koerkamp

Published in 2021

Scientific article presenting a method of designing breeding and rearing systems that takes into account the animal as a subject, in order to improve animal welfare. Giving an animal the opportunity to influence its environment through choices and decision making according to its own preferences allows the animal to have positive experiences. The aim of the method is to create a mutually beneficial relationship between human goals and animal welfare in future breeding and rearing systems.

Document Types: Scientific paper

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

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Animal adaptation, Consciousness, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Breeding and Rearing

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