Keywords: Welfare indicators

The effect of pair housing on dairy calf health, performance, and behavior

Katarína Bučková, Radka Šárová, Ágnes Moravcsíková, Marek Špinka

Published in 2021

Scientific paper comparing animal-based indicators for health, productivity and behaviour in individually and pair-housed dairy calves. Housing type did not affect health, feed intake or weight gain, but individually-housed calves placed in a new pen scored higher on movement behaviour than pair-housed calves placed in a new pen. This rebound effect indicates that the individual housing of calves results in activity deprivation.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Housing, Living environment, Stress, Livestock farming system, Welfare indicators

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Precision Technologies to Address Dairy Cattle Welfare: Focus on Lameness, Mastitis and Body Condition

Severiano R. Silva, José P. Araujo, Cristina Guedes, Flávio Silva, Mariana Almeida, Joaquim L. Cerqueira

Published in 2021

A scientific review of recent advances in precision farming to measure animal-based welfare indicators for dairy cows which discusses the possibility of integrating such data into a broader welfare assessment framework.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Livestock farming system

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The Use of Artificial Intelligence in Assessing Affective States in Livestock

Suresh Neethirajan

Published in 2021

A scientific review of the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and then assess emotions in livestock.  These developments call for a multidisciplinary approach that combines affective computing, bioengineering and applied ethology to overcome both theoretical and practical obstacles.

Document Types: Scientific review

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

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Modelling

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Detecting Welfare in a Non-Verbal Species: Social/Cultural Biases and Difficulties in Horse Welfare Assessment

Martine Hausberger, Clémence Lesimple, Séverine Henry

Published in 2021

A scientific review investigating the reasons why most domestic horses have unsatisfactory welfare levels despite being very close to humans. It identifies human subjectivity, human misinterpretation of signals sent by horses, and human desensitisation to welfare situations as the main contributing factors. It proposes the promotion of validated indicators to allow horse welfare to be assessed objectively. 

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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The effects of farming systems (organic vs. conventional) on dairy cow welfare, based on the Welfare Quality® protocol

K. Wagner, J. Brinkmann, A. Bergschmidt, C. Renziehausen, S. Marcha

Published in 2021

Scientific article comparing the welfare levels of German conventional and organic dairy farms, using the Welfare Quality protocol. It shows that organic farms score better on the 4 main Welfare Quality principles, although there is wide variation between farms operating under the same farming system. Nevertheless, there is room for improvement on organic farms in the area of health.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Livestock farming system

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Emerging indicators of fish welfare in aquaculture

Michelle Orietta Barreto, Sonia Rey Planellas, Yifei Yang, Clive Phillips, Kris Descovich

Published in 2021

A scientific review of invasive and non-invasive fish-welfare assessment methods, with a focus on their practical application in aquaculture. New technologies are helping to improve the accuracy, automation and practical applicability of these methods.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Precision farming, Welfare indicators, Livestock farming system

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Long-Distance Transport of Finisher Pigs in the Iberian Peninsula: Effects of Season on Thermal and Enthalpy Conditions, Welfare Indicators and Meat pH

Genaro C. Miranda-de la Lama, Rubén Bermejo-Poza,Formoso-Rafferty, Malcolm Mitchell, Pilar Barreiro, Morris Villarroel

Published in 2021

A scientific paper to determine the influence of temperature and air enthalpy variations in live pig transport vehicles using welfare indicators. It shows that such variations are greater in winter, and are associated with higher cortisol and lower blood glucose levels in pigs, both indicators of heat stress.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Welfare indicators, Stress, Transport

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Comparison of 12 Different Animal Welfare Labeling Schemes in the Pig Sector

Katriina Heinola, Tiina Kauppinen, Jarkko K. Niemi, Essi Wallenius, Satu Raussi

Published in 2021

Scientific paper comparing 12 animal welfare labels used for pork meat, revealing considerable variations between labels, with the least stringent barely exceeding the minimum standards imposed by EU regulations, and the most stringent being on a par with organic standards.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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Network analysis of tail-biting in pigs - indirect effect on tail posture

Thore Wilder, Joachim Krieter Nicole Kemper, Kathrin Büttner

Published in 2021

Scientific paper examining whether the tail position of pigs in a pen can be a predictive indicator for the occurrence of tail biting, taking into account the social structure of the group of penned pigs.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Modelling, Mutilation, Welfare indicators

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Public Views of Dairy Calf Welfare and Dairy Consumption Habits of American Youth and Adults

Rielle K. Perttu, Beth A. Ventura, Aaron K. Rendahl, Marcia I. Endres

Published in 2021

Scientific article presenting the results of an opinion poll on the welfare of dairy calves and the consumption of dairy products by Americans. The most important requirement for the calves in the view of all participants concerned their physical welfare, with a 'natural' lifestyle, humane treatment and the emotional state of the animals coming a distant second. The majority (94%) of respondents were consumers of dairy products.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords: Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships

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