Keywords : Housing

Scientific and technical assistance on welfare aspects related to housing and health of cats and dogs in commercial breeding establishments

European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Denise Candiani, Julien Drewe, Björn Forkman, Mette S Herskin, Ann Van Soom, Gizella Aboagye, Sean Ashe, Maria Mountricha, Yves Van der Stede, Chiara Fabris

Published in 2023

Report on the existing scientific evidence to support protective measures for cats and dogs in commercial catteries in three areas: housing, health and painful procedures.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Canines, Felines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Abuse, Human-animal relationships, Pain, Welfare indicators

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Aquaculture Certification Schemes Benchmark: Aquatic Animal Welfare - Edition 2

Aquatic Life Institute

Published in 2023

Second edition of a reference tool for welfare-based certification of aquaculture facilities. It analyzes current welfare requirements as part of the basic farming standards of seven international seafood certification programs.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Consciousness, Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Pain, Welfare indicators, Stress

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Review: Space allowance for growing pigs: Animal welfare, performance and on-farm practicality

K.L. Chidgey

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the scientific basis for the most common approaches to determining minimum space allowances for growing pigs. It examines the various factors that influence and interact with their spatial requirements. It stresses the need for further research replicating commercial conditions to ensure that recommendations deliver positive welfare outcomes in a way that is both practical and relevant.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Housing, One Welfare, Behavioural disorders, Societal issues

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Animal Welfare of Farmed Fish

European Parliament Fisheries Committee

Published in 2023

Study on the welfare of the main fish species farmed in the European Union. It includes the state of knowledge of fish welfare and identifies gaps, the needs of fish, and farming methods that cause problems in fish welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Enrichment, Housing, Living environment, Livestock farming system, Stress, Welfare indicators

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Welfare implications on management strategies for rearing dairy calves: A systematic review. Part 2 - Social management

Patricia Carulla, Arantxa Villagrá, Fernando Estellés, Isabel Blanco-Penedo

Published in 2023

Scientific review of different social management strategies in dairy calf rearing taking account of three animal welfare domains: biological functioning and animal health, affective states or cognitive judgment, and natural way of life. The main problems identified concern social housing with conspecifics, separation from the mother, and human-animal interactions. The authors stress the need to standardize good socialization practices for dairy calves.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Maternity, Human-animal relationships, Socialization, Stress

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Reducing Weaning Stress in Piglets by Pre-Weaning Socialization and Gradual Separation from the Sow: A Review

Céline Van Kerschaver, Diana Turpin, Joris Michiels, John Pluske

Published in 2023

Scientific review of alternative piglet management strategies to reduce weaning stress. These include the pre-weaning grouping of piglets from different litters and intermittent suckling. Their effects on post-weaning pig behavior, performance, mortality, gastrointestinal function and immunocompetence are described.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Aggression, Aggressivity, Animal-based measurements, Enrichment, Housing, Weaning, Stress

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Welfare of ducks, geese and quail on farm

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW Panel), Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gortázar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel Ángel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Paolo Pasquali, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

Scientific opinion identifying the most common farming systems in the European Union for each species and category of animal. It describes and assesses the welfare consequences for each species of the following factors: restriction of movement, injury, group stress, inability to adopt comfort behavior, inability to adopt exploratory or foraging behavior and inability to express maternal behavior. It provides recommendations on how to predict negative welfare consequences using both quantitative and qualitative methods.

Document types: Technical Paper

Animal categories: Poultry

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

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Welfare of dairy cows

EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Animal Welfare (AHAW) : Søren Saxmose Nielsen, Julio Alvarez, Dominique Joseph Bicout, Paolo Calistri, Elisabetta Canali, Julian Ashley Drewe, Bruno Garin-Bastuji, Jose Luis Gonzales Rojas, Christian Gort ́azar Schmidt, Mette Herskin, Virginie Michel, Miguel ́Angel Miranda Chueca, Barbara Padalino, Helen Clare Roberts, Hans Spoolder, Karl Stahl, Antonio Velarde, Arvo Viltrop, Alice De Boyer des Roches, Margit Bak Jensen, John Mee, Martin Green, Hans-Hermann Thulke, Elea Bailly-Caumette, Denise Candiani, Eliana Lima,Yves Van der Stede and Christoph Winckler

Published in 2023

EFSA opinion identifying the main types of housing for dairy cows in Europe and, for each, the main strengths, weaknesses and risks likely to reduce animal welfare. It examines five specific negative welfare consequences: locomotor disorders, mastitis, restricted movement and resting problems, inability to adopt comfort behavior and metabolic disorders. It also analyzes a set of farm characteristics that could be used to classify the level of welfare on farms.

Document Types: Opinions

Animal categories: Bovines

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

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Réduire le rayonnement du soleil en bâtiment pour maintenir le confort thermique des troupeaux laitiers en période chaude

Bertrand Fagoo, Dominique Lagel, Pierrick Eouzan, Tanguy Morel, Florence Fargier, Jean Charef

Published in 2023

Technical dossier published by Cniel and Idele on ways to combat solar radiation and ensure thermal comfort for dairy cows in summer.

Document Types: Technical review

Animal categories: Bovines

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

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European Parliament: Written answer to Question E-000857/23: Supporting the installation of loose-house systems for sows 

Question: Annika Bruna (ID), Eric Minardi (ID), Elżbieta Kruk (ECR), France Jamet (ID). Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on the European Commission's plans to provide financial support for the installation of free-range accommodation for sows, and on the introduction of mirror clauses to protect European livestock farmers from competition from third countries with less stringent animal welfare standards.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

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

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