Discipline: Zootechnics

Animal Welfare Committee: opinion on alternatives to culling newly hatched chicks in the egg and poultry industry

Animal Welfare Committtee (UK)

Published in 2023

Report on technologies with the potential to help end the culling of newly hatched male chicks. It identifies the possible risks to welfare posed by their use, and puts forward alternative  ideas and views on the matter.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Poultry

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

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Guidance: Poultry welfare off the farm

Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (UK)

Published in 2023

Update of the guide originally published in 2012 by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), on how to manage the health and welfare of poultry during transport, at market and at slaughter

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Transport

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Feeding management of giraffe towards positive welfare

Sarah Depauw, Leen Verbist, Jeroen Stevens, Marina Salas

Published in 2023

Scientific article using the Five Domains of Animal Welfare model to optimize feeding strategies that promote positive affective states in zoo giraffes. The changes that were introduced increased the animals' pleasure, gastrointestinal comfort and engagement.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Humans can identify reward-related call types of chickens

Nicky McGrath, Clive J. C. Phillips , Oliver H. P. Burman , Cathy M. Dwyer, Joerg Henning

Published in 2024

Scientific article testing whether humans can distinguish between chicken calls produced in different contexts (ie. chickens either expect or don't expect a reward), identify emotional valence (positive or negative) and intensity, and assess how excited chickens are, based on their calls. 

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Human-animal relationships, Vocalisation

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-002825/2023: A call to ban debeaking in Europe

Aurélia Beigneux (ID). Reply: Mrs Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the measures the European Commission intends to take to limit or even ban the debeaking of laying hens and, more generally, to better control intensive farming and encourage animal welfare on farms.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Mutilation, Livestock farming system

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Does the provision of live black soldier fly and yellow mealworm larvae improve Muscovy duck welfare?

Marta Gariglio, Sihem Dabbou, Manuela Renna, Ilaria Biasato, Sara Bellezza Oddon, Marco Meneguz, Raul Daniel Miazzo, Stefania Bergagna, Elena Colombino, Elisabetta Macchi, Achille Schiavone

Published in 2023

Scientific paper evaluating the effect of fly larvae and mealworm-based feed enrichment on physiological and behavioral indicators of stress and aggression in Muscovy ducks, and on their growth performance.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Aggression, Aggressiveness, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Stress

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Urban animal welfare

Marion Weisslinger

Published in 2023

Dossier, including a video interview with a researcher in animal ethics, describing the different domestic and liminal animals that inhabit cities, the competition for space with humans, the need to consider the welfare of these animals, and the management of their populations.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories:Wildlife

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Biodiversity, Societal issues, Population management, One Welfare, Human-animal relationships

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What does the EU's new transport proposal mean for fish?

Eurogroup for Animals

Published in 2023

News article setting out the particular welfare needs of fish during transport, and analyzing the parts of the proposed revisions to the European regulations on animal welfare during transport that specifically address fish welfare. 

Document Types: Technical review

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

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Transportation

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Elevated platforms for pigs - A review

Karen Kauselmann, Lars Schrader, E. Tobias Krause

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the value of raised platforms for the improvement of pig welfare. It discusses  different platform and ramp designs, a pig's biological ability to use them, the advantages and disadvantages for pigs and farmers, and methods used to evaluate the effects of platforms on pigs.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

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

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European Parliament: written answer to question E-003166/23: Extending the use of in-ovo chick sexing methods to all poultry products sold on the EU market

Annika Bruna (ID), Eric Minardi (ID), Ivan Vilibor Sinčić (NI), Petras Auštrevičius (Renew), Elżbieta Kruk (ECR), Aurélia Beigneux (ID). Reply: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the European Commission's intentions regarding the extension of the ban on the killing of male chicks to all member states and third countries.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Poultry

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

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