Species : Cows

Impact of heat stress on dairy cattle and selection strategies for thermotolerance: a review

Shannon L. Cartwright, Julie Schmied, Niel Karrow, Bonnie A. Mallard

Published in 2023

Scientific review of the impacts of heat stress on the production, fertility, health and mortality of dairy cows, and of the advantages and disadvantages of the various strategies that have been proposed for the selction of heat-tolerant cows.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Risk management, Living environment, Resilience, Robustness

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Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle: A Systematic Review of Studies in the European Legal Framework

Svea Nicolaisen, Nina Langkabel, Christa Thoene-Reineke, Mechthild Wiegard

Published in 2023

Scientific review of transport and slaughter procedures in Europe since the European regulations on animal transport and welfare came into force in 2009. It identifies the factors affecting animal welfare during these two phases of a farmed animal's life.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transport

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Assemblée nationale : réponse écrite à la question n° 3516 : Soutien du Gouvernement français à la fin de l’élevage en cage

Question: Sandra Regol (Ecologist - NUPES - Bas-Rhin). Answer: Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty

Published in 2023

Answer to a question on whether the government will support an end to cage farming as part of the revision of European regulations, and whether it intends to raise its ambitions at European level in order to play a leading role in promoting better animal welfare standards and improving European farming methods.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories:Cattle, Pigs, Poultry

Keywords:Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Enrichment, Living environment, Societal issues, Stress, Livestock farming system

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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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Canadian dairy farmer views about animal welfare

Catherine A Schuppli, Jeffrey M Spooner, Marina AG von Keyserlingk

Published in 2023

Article reporting the results of a survey of 22 Canadian dairy farmers to discover their views on animal welfare. Two centres of interest emerged: a focus on the animal, including the biology and emotions of animals, and dairy farmer identity, including the values farmers place on their work and their animals, the way they are perceived by society, and human-animal relationships.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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

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A six-step process to explore facial expressions performances to detect pain in dairy cows with lipopolysaccharide-induced clinical mastitis

L. Ginger, L. Aubé, D. Ledoux, M. Borot, C. David, M. Bouchon, M. Leach, D. Durand, A. de Boyer des Roches

Published in 2023

Study identifying 7 facial action units taken from the eye and ear regions and from the mouth and muzzle for the detection of mild pain associated with induced inflammatory mastitis in dairy cows. It uses a six-step process that incorporates expression, selectivity, intra- and inter-observer reliability and measurement error (specificity and sensitivity).

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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

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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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Prevalence of lameness in dairy cows: A literature review

Peter T. Thomsen, Jan K. Shearer, Hans Houe

Published in 2023

Scientific review on global levels of lameness in dairy cows from 1989 to 2020, which it calculates to be 22.8%, with a median of 22.0%, a range between studies of 5.1% to 45%, and a range within the herd of 0% to 88%. It notes that levels have changed very little over time.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Pain, Livestock farming system

European Parliament: Written answer to question E-000948/23: Malnourished calves in Europe

Question: Sarah Wiener (Greens/EFA). Answer: Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission

Published in 2023

Answer to a question concerning the failure by member states to transpose Directive 2008/119/EC with regard to standards for the protection of calves, in particular as regards the monitoring of their hemoglobin blood levels, their feeding and their transport.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords: Carcass quality, Transport,Societal issues

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