Species : Cows

Developing a tool to assess the health-related quality of life in calves with respiratory disease: content validation

D.J. Bell, B. Vigors, C.-A. Duthie, D.J. Bartram, A. Hancock, I. Odeyemi, C. Penny, M.J. Haskell

Published in 2022

Scientific article on the validation of the contents of a tool to measure health-related quality of life in calves with respiratory disease. Using a survey and focus groups, the authors evaluated the usefulness of 23 indicators with stakeholders. The following indicators were selected: nasal discharge, coughing, respiratory effort, eye appearance (discharge and brightness), body and head posture and ear position; movement towards feed, responsiveness, spatial proximity, volume of feed intake, motivation to feed and vitality.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Welfare indicators

Go to document

Extrait du rapport d’un audit effectué par la DG SANTE et sécurité alimentaire concernant l’Espagne du 10 au 27 mai 2022 afin d ’évaluer la protection des veaux non sevrés pendant les longs trajets

DG SANTE, European Commission

Published in 2023

DG SANTE audit report concluding that, despite numerous checks on livestock transport carried out by the Spanish authorities, as implemented, these official controls made it impossible to either verify or confirm compliance with welfare requirements for the transport of unweaned calves over long distances.

Document types: Regulation/Certification

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Transportation

Go to document

Methods used by Canadian dairy farmers for on-farm euthanasia and the emotions associated with the decision and the practice of euthanasia

J. Denis-Robichaud, M. Rousseau, M. Denicourt, M. Villettaz-Robichaud, A.-M. Lamothe, L. DesCôteaux

Published in 2022

Scientific article describing the on-farm slaughtering practices of Canadian dairy farmers and assessing their associated emotions. The main method was shooting with a gun (>70%). Farmers mentioned uother small companion animalsceptable slaughter methods and few farmers used decision trees or had received on-farm slaughter training.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Stress

Go to document

Occurrence and reasons for on-farm emergency slaughter of cattle in Norway

Gíslína Skúladóttir, Ingrid Hunter-Holmøy, Clare Joan Phythian, Guro Myhrene, Adam Dunstan Martin

Published in 2022

Scientific article identifying the main reasons for emergency on-farm slaughter of cattle in Norway based on data from four slaughterhouses, in 2018. These were locomotive problems (46%), recumbent cows (23%), vaginal prolapse and dystocia (17%).

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Consciousness, Pain, Stress

Go to document

Investigating the impact of pre-slaughter management factors on indicators of fed beef cattle welfare - a scoping review

Melissa Davis, Paxton Sullivan, Jimena Breton, Lauren Dean, Lily N. Edwards-Callaway

Published in 2022

Scientific review identifying that pre-slaughter management factors related to transport and handling, and behavioral and physiological welfare indicators were the topics most commonly addressed in studies on the relationships between pre-slaughter management factors and welfare of beef cattle at slaughter.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Societal issues, Welfare indicators, Stress, Transportation

Go to document

Development of human-directed behavior in dairy calves reared individually or in pairs

S.B. Doyle, E.E. Lindner, K.N. Gingerich, E.K. Miller-Cushon

Published in 2022

Scientific paper showing the persistent effects of the social housing of early life dairy calves (singly or in pairs) on human-directed behaviours, a phenomenon that may have implications for long-term management.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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

Go to document

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 farming system, Welfare indicators

Go to document

SECURIVO : L’essentiel de la biosécurité en élevage de veaux de boucherie

Magdéléna Chanteperdrix (Institut de l'Elevage), Marie Drouet (Institut de l'Elevage), Béatrice Mounaix (Institut de l'Elevage), Manuel Tourtier (AGESEM), David Le Goïc (SNGTV), Corinne Jaureguy (SNGTV), Philippe Briand (C.A. Ille et Vilaine (35)), Manon Coupin (Chamber of Agriculture Pays de la Loire), Anne Hemonic (IFIP), Nathalie Rousset (ITAVI)

Published in 2022

Dossier providing definitions of biosecurity, providing 10 technical sheets to help veal calf farmers improve biosecurity levels on their farms, and setting out the mandatory and recommended measures for each topic area.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Environment, Risk management, Pathogen transfer

Go to document

A "Good Life" for Dairy Cattle: Developing and Piloting a Framework for Assessing Positive Welfare Opportunities Based on Scientific Evidence and Farmer Expertise

Jessica E. Stokes , Elizabeth Rowe, Siobhan Mullan, Joy C. Pritchard, Rachel Horler, Marie J. Haskell, Cathy M. Dwyer, David C. J. Main

Published in 2022

Scientific paper on the development of a framework for assessing positive welfare in dairy cows, based on science and tested by British farmers. The test revealed that farmers value the positive welfare of their cows and would support a positive welfare assessment.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

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

Go to document

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

Go to document