Welfare implications of changes in production systems for laying hens
Published in 2006
Assessment of the welfare of laying hens in different production systems. Tool for assessing the welfare of hens.
Document Types: Scientific work
Discipline: Ethology
Guide to Good Practice - Controlling the welfare of cattle at slaughter
Published in 2014
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.
Document Types: Good practice guide
Animal categories: Bovines
Keywords: Risk management
Scientific Opinion on the assessment of dairy cow welfare in small-scale farming systems
Published in 2015
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.
Document Types: Opinions
Animal categories: Bovines
Keywords:Animal-based measurements
Evaluation du guide de bonnes pratiques d’abattage des bovins en matière de protection animale
Published in 2013
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.
Document Types: Opinions
Animal categories: Bovines
Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Pain, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Fear, Stress
Stress and welfare: two complementary concepts that are intrinsically related to the animal's point of view
Published in 2007
The closely associated concepts of welfare and stress may be considered as opposites since welfare cannot be achieved under stress and vice versa. Stress was first considered as an unspecific response to any challenge taxing the organism's resources where the HPA axis plays a central role. Along the same lines, welfare was considered as the state of an individual on a continuum between poor and good depending on the efforts required to adapt to the environment. However, these views cannot explain opposite results such as up- vs. down-regulation of the HPA axis and hypo- vs. hyper-behavioural reactivity under chronic stress. ... It is therefore suggested that the discrepancies found in the literature in terms of responses of the HPA axis or modification of behaviour under aversive conditions may stem from differences in the way a situation is evaluated. It is argued that stress comes from the animal's evaluation of the outcome of a situation, and that welfare is the state resulting from that evaluation.
Document Types: Scientific paper
Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Memory, Metacognition, Cognitive processes, Resilience, Stress
General Principles for the welfare of animals in production systems: the underlying science and its application
Published in 2013
Presentation of the 10 general principles relating to welfare in production systems adopted by the OIE for the development of standards
Document Types: Scientific review
Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Living environment,Mutilation, Fear, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress
AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals
Published in 2013
Highly detailed guide to all euthanisation methods for all species (domestic carnivores, livestock and laboratory animals)
Document Types: Technical work
Keywords: Consciousness, Pain, Experimentation
AVMA Guidelines for the Humane Slaughter of Animals
Published in 2016
Description of the different methods of slaughter with recommendations concerning animal welfare
Document Types: Technical work
Keywords: Consciousness, Pain, Experimentation
Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for pigs
Published in 2009
This document sets out the indicators used to assess welfare in pig production (breeding sows, growing pigs), including the rearing and abattoir phases. The chosen indicators concern the resources available to the animal (housing, activities), measurements taken from the animal, and a qualitative evaluation. The document explains registration procedures, qualitative and frequency scoring methods and the aggregation of criteria from four of the five domains of welfare: nutrition, environment, health and appropriate behaviours.
Document Types: Technical work
Animal categories: Porcines
Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress
Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for poultry
Published in 2009
The document sets out the indicators used to assess the welfare of poultry (broiler and laying hens), including the rearing and abattoir phases. The chosen indicators concern the resources available to the animal (housing, activities), measurements taken from the animal, and a qualitative evaluation. The document explains registration procedures, qualitative and frequency scoring methods, and the aggregation of criteria from four of the five domains of welfare: nutrition, environment, health and appropriate behaviours.
Document Types: Technical work
Animal categories: Poultry
Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Environment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress
