Discipline: Veterinary

National chicken council broiler welfare guidelines and audit checklist

National Chicken Council

Published in 2022

Two-yearly update of the NCC broiler welfare guidelines including key welfare indicators (including foot pad health, gait, reduction of leg and wing injuries), with a focus on bird behaviour, objective measures and welfare outcomes, enhanced training programs for proper handling of birds, and an improved audit tool.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system

Go to document

Inter-Observer Repeatability of Indicators of Consciousness after Waterbath Stunning in Broiler Chickens

Alexandra Contreras-Jodar, Aranzazu Varvaró-Porter, Virginie Michel, Antonio Velarde

Published in 2022

A study proposing an improved list of indicators available for use in commercial abattoirs to ensure the consistency of assessments of the effectiveness of electrostunning in broilers. Prior to bleeding, it is better to check for breathing than for blinking or spontaneous vocalizations. During bleeding, the recommended indicators are breathing, wing flapping and head shaking.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Carcass quality, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress

Go to document

Investigating risk factors behind piglet facial and sow teat lesions through a literature review and a survey on teeth reduction

Jen-Yun Chou, Jeremy N. Marchant, Elena Nalon, Thuy T. T. Huynh, Heleen A. van de Weerd, Laura A. Boyle, Sarah H. Ison

Published in 2022

Scientific article identifying 6 named categories and one general category of risk factors for lesions on the faces of piglets and on sow teats when no piglet teeth resection has been carried out.They are: presence or absence of teeth resection; housing system; litter size; piglet management; environmental enrichment; milk production; and other piglet management practices.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Pain, Enrichment, Lactation, Housing, Stress

Go to document

Annual report of the EFSA Networks on Animal Welfare 2022

EFSA

Published in 2022

Report of the 2022 meeting which dealt with the revision of the European animal welfare regulations, the associated EFSA opinions with a presentation of those published in 2022 and a progress report on those in progress, and with the work of the expert subgroup for animal welfare and the subgroup on national contact points.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Bovines, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Enrichment, Risk management, Welfare indicators, Living environment, Mutilation, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Transportation, Pain

Go to document

Elevage des chevrettes sous les mères : description et retour des éleveurs sur la pratique

Marianne Berthelot

Published in 2022

Report on the results of a telephone survey of 40 goat farmers who raise replacement female kids with their mothers. The perceived benefits are gains in time and ease of work, a better mother-daughter bond, better growth and health in the kids, improved welfare for the does as well as for the kids, and personal satisfaction for the farmer. However, the kids are found to be more shy, and the practice has somewhat negative economic and health impacts.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Caprines

Keywords:Lactation, Maternity

Go to document

Arrêté du 7 novembre 2022 relatif à la mise à mort des poussins des lignées de l’espèce Gallus gallus destinées à la production d’œufs de consommation, utilisés pour l’alimentation animale

M. Faipoux

Published in 2022

Order specifying the slaughter methods and strains of the Gallus gallus species intended for the production of eggs for consumption for which the killing of chicks to be used in animal feed is authorized.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Prenatal issues

Go to document

Individual behavioral correlates of tail biting in pre-finishing piglets

Marc Bagaria, Laura Kuiper, Ellen Meijer, Elisabeth H. M. Sterck

Published in 2022

Scientific paper showing that tail lesions are present in 2/3 of a group of pre-finishing piglets, that they are usually minor and that the majority of piglets both bite and are bitten. The piglets that bite most are those with the highest levels of exploratory behaviour.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

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

Go to document

Occurrence and reasons for on-farm emergency slaughter of cattle in Norway

Gíslína Skúladóttir, Ingrid Hunter-Holmøy, Clare Joan Phythian, Guro Myhrene, Adam Dunstan Martin

Published in 2022

Scientific article identifying the main reasons for emergency on-farm slaughter of cattle in Norway based on data from four slaughterhouses, in 2018. These were locomotive problems (46%), recumbent cows (23%), vaginal prolapse and dystocia (17%).

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Stress

Go to document

Review of the Foundational Knowledge Required for Assessing Horse Welfare

Andrea M. Harvey, Daniel Ramp, David J. Mellor

Published in 2022

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.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

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

Go to document

A systematic review of equid welfare at slaughter

K.A. Fletcher, G. Limon, L.J. Whatford, A. Grist, T.G. Knowles, T.J. Gibson

Published in 2022

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.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

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

Go to document