Subject: Interspecies relationships

Bien dans son corps, bien dans sa tête : qu’est ce que le bien-être du cheval?

IFCE group

Published in 2017

Whether you are a rider, breeder, teacher or horse owner, you will find everything on horse welfare in this "go-to" text from the French Horse and Riding Institute. Nowadays, there is a real awareness of welfare issues for animals, and the horse is no exception to this. What is currently considered to be good or bad practice? What scientific evidence is there? What might future developments look like and what are the regulations? In order to answer these questions, this book offers the reader information that is informed by science and presented in a form that can be understood and used by both professionals and amateurs. With a context-setting preface and introduction written by Axel Kahn and Sylvie Brunel, the wealth of bibliographical research carried out by Christine Briant and her team makes it possible to grasp the concept of equine welfare (including that of donkeys and ponies), and to apply it to feeding, housing, health and behaviour.

Document Types: Scientific work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Memory, Living environment, Fear, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress, Livestock farming system, Transport, Vocalisation

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Travailler son cheval selon les principes de l’apprentissage

IFCE group

Published in 2015

Whether you handle horses as a rider or driver and whatever style you do it in, this practical guide will help you to optimise your horse's training and working habits. The three chapters of this book, based on recent research in ethology, deal with the main types of learning in an accessible and concrete way. The different approaches are first defined and then analysed, with supporting examples and scenarios. The complexities of habituation and awareness, and of operating and Pavlovian conditioning are demystified with a view to their application in everyday life. The step-by-step tutoring through each process and provision of problem-solving tips will provide readers with genuine avenues to improve their relationship with horses. Fully illustrated with colour photos and drawings, this book is an essential tool for anyone wishing to apply training principles in their handling of riding and carriage horses. 

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Anxiety, Learning, Training, Fear, Cognitive processes, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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Qu’est-ce que le bien-être des équidés?

IFCE group, INRA, Agroscope Swiss National Stud (HNS) consortium

Published in 2019

This 12-page leaflet summarises the main principles to follow in order to improve the welfare of horses.

Document Types: Good practice guide

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Learning, Training, Housing, Living environment, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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The clinical companion of the donkey

Donkey Sanctuary charity group

Published in 2018

This book provides up-to-date and comprehensive information on donkeys, with the aim of improving their health and welfare. It focuses in particular on the characteristics of the species compared with other members of the equidae family. It includes a chapter on behaviour which is fundamental to the understanding of this unique animal and key to  the clinical signs and requirements for handling, feeding and treatment.

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords: Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Anxiety, Pain, Welfare indicators, Fear, Human-animal relationships

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Livre Blanc: le bien-être de l’animal de compagnie

CAP WELFARE. Caroline Gilbert, Emmanuelle Titeux, Jérôme Michalon, Charly Pignon, Thierry Poitte, Fabrice Rosaci. Preface by Alain Boissy

Published in 2019

To improve understanding of the needs and expectations of pets and awareness of their emotions, encourage the veterinary profession to engage as stakeholders in this societal issue, and to produce a consultative document for practitioners.

Document Types: Technical work

Animal categories: Canines, Felines, Exotic pets

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Consciousness, Pain, Societal issues, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Fear, Cognitive processes, Stress, Vocalisation

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Welfare Quality® assessment protocol for pigs

Antoni Dalmau, Antonio Velarde, Kamara Scott, Sandra Edwards

Published in 2009

This document sets out the indicators used to assess welfare in pig production (breeding sows, growing pigs), 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: Porcines

Keywords: Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Adaptation of the environment to the animal, Animal-based measurements, Anxiety, Livestock buildings, Pain, Enrichment, Welfare indicators, Housing, Restraint equipment, Living environment, Mutilation, Fear, Human-animal relationships, Stress

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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

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: Good practice guide

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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