Keyword: Living environment

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: Guides to Good Practice

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurement, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Welfare indicator, Living environment, Mutilations, Human-animal relationship, Stress, Farming system

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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 measurement, Consciousness, Enrichment, Risk management, Living environment, Human-animal relationship, Stress, Livestock system, Transportation, Pain

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Recognising trade-offs between welfare and environmental outcomes in aquaculture will enable good decisions

Georgia Macaulay, Luke T. Barrett, Tim Dempster

Published in 2022

Opinion piece examining 5 case studies in the aquaculture sector to arrive at a view on how best to reconcile environmental protection and animal-welfare objectives in practice.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords: Environment, Living environment, Livestock system,Societal issues

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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 measurement, Indicator of well-being, Living environment, Stress

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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 measurement, Welfare indicator, Housing, Living environment

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Is animal welfare better on smaller dairy farms? Evidence from 3,085 dairy farms in Germany

T. Lindena, S. Hess

Published in 2022

Scientific paper calculating an animal welfare index (AWI) of German dairy farms and comparing the results by size. It finds that the Ianimal welfare is slightly higher on larger farms, contrary to popular belief. However, the variation in the Ianimal welfare within classes is very high, and other factors would seem to affect the Ianimal welfare such as the skill level of the farm manager, and the time farmers spend with their animals.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Housing, Living environment, Livestock systems, Welfare indicators

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Area and Resource Utilization of Group-Housed Horses in an Active Stable

Frederik Hildebrandt, Kathrin Büttner, Jennifer Salau, Joachim Krieter Irena Czycholl

Published in 2022

Scientific article on the use of different areas of an active stable by group-housed horses. The extent to which different areas are used depends mainly on the individual, and some areas are used more, such as the feeding stalls. The study shows preferences for certain types of bedding.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

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

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Insect-repelling behaviour in horses in relation to insect prevalence and access to shelters

Janne Winther Christensen, Christina Gudim Strøm, Klára Nicová, Clotilde Lafaige de Gaillard, Peter S andøe, Henrik Skovgård

Published in 2022

Scientific article reporting on an investigation into discomfort levels in horses caused by the presence of biting insects. Discomfort was positively correlated with lack of access to indoor areas and the prevalence of insects. The paper concludes that free access to shelters or other indoor areas during the summer reduces the negative effects of biting insects and may thereby improve the welfare of horses.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Equines

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

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The Potential of Understory Production Systems to Improve Laying Hen Welfare

Shaocong Yan, Chenyujing Yang, Lei Zhu, Yongji Xue

Published in 2022

Scientific review of Chinese systems of rearing laying hens in undergrowth, their overall positive impact on the welfare of the animals themselves, their acceptability to Chinese farmers and public authorities, and the limitations on their general implementation across the whole country.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Societal issues, Living environment, Stress,  Breeding and rearing systems

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Grazing behaviour: Why knowing your cows counts

Salah Hamed Esmail

Published in 2022

Technical article summarizing existing knowledge on the needs and behaviors of cows on pasture and outlining good practices for the best use of pasture by the animals.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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

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