Keyword: Fear

Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for poultry

Andy Butterworth, Cecile Arnould, Thea Fiks-van Niekerk...

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

General Principles for the welfare of animals in production systems: the underlying science and its application

Fraser D., Duncan I.J.H., Edwards S.A., Grandin T., Gregory N.G., Guyonnet V., Hemsworth P.H., Huertas S.M., Huzzey J.M., Mellor D.J., Mench J.A., Spinka M., Whay H.R.,

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

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Hommes et animaux d’élevage au travail : vers une approche pluridisciplinaire des pratiques relationnelles

Boivin X., Bensoussan S., L'Hotellier N., Bignon L., Brives H., Brulé A., Godet J., Grannec M.L., Hausberger M., Kling-Eveillard F., Tallet C., Courboulay V.

Published in 2012

The legal recognition of animals as a "sentient beings" means that any consideration of the working relationship between humans and animals in livestock farming must take into account the points of view of both the producer and the animal. In a wider societal context, this has implications for efficient working practices and quality of life in the agricultural professions as much as it does for animal welfare. This review article focuses on multidisciplinary approaches, in particular those that combine the social sciences and ethology, to the understanding and improvement of the farming practices that determine the Human-animal relationshipsshipsship. The article points to the value of describing and evaluating differences in producers' relational practices to achieve a  Human-animal relationshipsshipsship that is beneficial to both humans and animals. 

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords: Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for cattle

Christoph Winckler, Bo Algers, Kees van Reenen, Hélène Leruste, Isabelle Veissier, Linda Keeling, Andy Butterworth, Gwen van Overbeke, Vere Bedaux

Published in 2009

Welfare Quality® combines analysis of consumer perceptions and attitudes with current knowledge from animal welfare science. This has led to the identification of 12 criteria that must be properly taken into account by evaluation systems. To address these issues, it has been decided to focus on those indicators classified as animal-based, which address aspects of the immediate welfare status of animals, such as their behaviour, fear, health or physical condition. These animal-based measures include the effects of variations in farm system management (role of the farmer) as well as particular system-animal interactions. It is however clear that resource-based and management-based measures can also contribute to a welfare assessment if they are closely correlated with animal-based measures. In addition, resource- and management-based measures can be used to identify animal welfare risks and to identify the causes of poor welfare so that improvement strategies can be implemented.
This protocol describes the procedures and requirements for the assessment of the welfare of cattle and is limited to the main categories of production animals, i.e. feeder cattle, dairy cows and veal calves. The document first outlines the on-farm collection of measurement data on feeder cattle, followed by the procedures for calculating scores. The next section describes the collection of data at the abattoir to assess the welfare of feeder cattle at the time of slaughter. Next, the procedure for on-farm collection of measurement data on dairy cows and the calculation of scores for overall farm welfare assessment is described, followed by the protocols for on-farm collection of the same data from calves, along with a description of data collection protocols for measurements taken at the abattoir but relevant to farm welfare. These last two sections complement each other and are used together to calculate on-farm welfare scores for veal calves.

Document Types: Guides to Good Practice

Animal categories: Bovines, Ruminants

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, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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AWIN Welfare assessment protocol for sheep

Cathy Dwyer, Roberto Ruiz, Ina Beltran de Heredia

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for the evaluation of animal welfare in order to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species with very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and involving different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.
This particular welfare assessment protocol is intended for adult female sheep (over one year of age), kept for milk and/or meat and has been tested for this specification. The protocol has not been tested for ewes kept primarily for wool production, or for dual-purpose meat and wool production, but it is expected that the protocol may also be applicable  for such cases. The protocol applies and has been tested on adult ewes kept indoors and outdoors. Since the indicators are based on sheep biology, many of the indicators may also be relevant to adult male sheep, but the protocol has not yet been tested for use in male animals.

Document Types: Guides to Good Practice

Animal categories: Ovines

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, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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AWIN Welfare assessment protocol for goats

Monica Battini, Silvana Mattielo, George Stiwell, Ana Viera

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for evaluating animal welfare in order to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species kept under very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and that involve different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.

This welfare assessment protocol is intended for dairy goats kept in intensive or semi-intensive production systems. Many of the indicators developed here are applicable to other categories of goats (non-producing goats, kids...), but have not been validated for these categories.

Document Types: Guides to Good Practice

Animal categories: Caprines

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, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

The AWIN welfare assessment protocol for horses

Emanuela Dalla Costa, Michela Minero

Published in 2015

The European AWIN project has developed welfare assessment protocols that provide a range of reliable, feasible and practical animal-based indicators for evaluating animal welfare to promote the improvement of animal production systems across Europe. The protocols have been developed for species kept under very different husbandry systems, ranging from highly intensive to pasture-based systems, and that involve different production parameters, from intensive dairy production to extensive meat or draught animal production.
This welfare assessment protocol is intended for horses over 5 years of age.

Document Types: Guides to Good Practice

Animal categories: Equines

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, Modelling, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Comportement, Conduite et Bien-être Animal

Xavier Manteca i Vilanova, Anthony J. Smith

Published in 2014

Farm management has changed radically in developed countries over the last five decades. Many of these changes are the result of intensification, which leads to farming conditions that are far removed from the natural conditions in which animals can freely express their natural behaviours. For example, laying hens in cages cannot scratch the ground or flap their wings, pregnant sows in individual gestation stalls are unable to prepare a nest for their future litters, and dairy cows are unable to suckle their calves. These changes do not appear to have had a negative effect on animal productivity, but they have raised deeper questions about the moral justification for keeping animals in such conditions. In developing countries, many societies, such as pastoralist peoples, have a long tradition and sophisticated knowledge of animals and animal husbandry. Indeed, the welfare and health of the herder and his family depend on the welfare and health of their animals. Recently, Western practices have spread to developing countries and people with no traditional connection to the keeping of livestock are beginning to work in this sector, particularly in intensive systems. This book is intended to meet the needs of both pastoralists who are the heirs to local traditions and small-scale farmers and businessmen interested in more intensive or Western-type peri-urban management systems. It will also be useful to those involved in rural development and to non-governmental organisations and agricultural advisory services. The book brings together information on the behaviour and welfare of production animals that is likely to be of use in tropical climates and is usually hard to find, being widely dispersed across the scientific literature.

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Bovines, Canines, Ovines, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators, Fear, Prenatal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Emotional regulation in livestock: focus on neurobiological actors

Menant O., Destrez A., Deiss V., Boissy A., Delagrange P., Calandreau L., Chaillou E.

Published in 2016

In order to achieve the objective evaluation of emotions in farm animals, the Agri-Bien-Être Animal network (an interdisciplinary group created by INRA in 1998, www6.inra.fr/agri_bien_etre_animal) has proposed experimental strategies based on cognitive evaluation theory in human psychology (Boissy et al 2007, Box 1). According to this conceptual framework, emotions are generated by the cognitive evaluation of a situation confronting the animal. Although the characterisation of these situations is complex (Forkman et al 2007), it is suggested that the animal would evaluate them using basic criteria for relevance (suddenness, novelty, etc) and involvement (predictability, etc), the degree to which they correspond to  expectations, and according to its own adaptive capacities (controllability of the situation). At the end of this evaluation phase, the emotion felt by the animal is translated into emotional expression. It is the latter that can be assessed by the objective measurement of behavioural and physiological emotional responses (Box 2). By applying this conceptual framework to research in the neurobiology of emotions, the representation of the neural circuit of emotions can be built around those structures involved in the perception of the environment, information processing and the expression of emotional responses (Figure 1). From an experimental point of view, this theoretical framework requires the characterisation and standardisation of situations likely to serve as a trigger and the characterisation of the emotional responses expressed by individual animals in relation to the neurobiological actors studied.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines, Caprines, Equines, Monogastrics, Ovines, Porcines, Ruminants, Poultry

Keywords: Anxiety, Experimentation, Brain integration, Memory, Neurogenesis, Fear, Stress

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Assessment of positive emotions in animals to improve their welfare

Boissy A., Manteuffel G., Jensen M.B., Moe R.O., Spruijt B., Keeling L., Winckler C., Forkman B., Dimitrov I., Langbein J., Bakken M., Veissier I., Aubert A.

Published in 2007

It is now widely accepted that social welfare is not simply the absence of negative experiences, but rather the presence of positive experiences such as enjoyment. However, scientific research on positive emotions has long been neglected. This paper addresses two main issues: first, it reviews the current state of scientific knowledge supporting the existence of positive emotional states in animals and, second, it suggests possible applications of this knowledge to improve quality of life under animal management conditions. In the first part of the paper, we review recent advances in psychology and neuroscience to provide pragmatic frames based on cognitive processes (such as positive anticipation, contrast and controllability) for use in further investigation of positive emotions in animals. Next, the neurobiological basis of positive emotions is brought to animal welfarer in the identification behavioural and physiological expressions of positive experiences in animals. The monitoring of the autonomic nervous system (via the heart rate and its variability) and the immune system could provide appropriate tools to better assess emotional states in animals, supplementing classic adrenal cortical measurements. In the second part of the paper, useful strategies to enhance positive experiences (such as physical, social and cognitive enrichment or putative genetic selection) are described. The paper then turns to practical applications to assess and promote positive emotions that can help improve an animal's quality of life. Play, affiliation behaviours and certain vocalisations would appear to be the most promising indicators to evaluate positive experiences in laboratory animals and in farm animals kept under commercial production conditions.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Brain integration, Fear, Cognitive processes, Stress

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