Subject: Health /Diseases

The Relationship between Animal Welfare and Antimicrobial Use in Italian Dairy Farms

Francesca Mazza, Federico Scali, Nicoletta Formenti, Claudia Romeo, Matteo Tonni, Giordano Ventura, Luigi Bertocchi, Valentina Lorenzi, Francesca Fusi, Clara Tolini, Gian Filippo Clemente, Federica Guadagno, Antonio Marco Maisano, Giovanni Santucci, Loredana Candela, Gianluca Antonio Romeo, Giovanni Loris Alborali

Published in 2021

Scientific paper to evaluate the relationship between levels of animal welfare and the use of antimicrobials in Italian dairy farms. No relationship could be found between these two factors. The use of category B antimicrobials and of intramammary treatments in dry cows were linked to levels of staff training.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Antibiotic resistance, Environment, Livestock farming system, Societal issues

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Animal Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the Welfare of Animals during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Kimberly Ekstrand, Amanda J. Flanagan, Ilyan E. Lin, Brendon Vejseli, Allicyn Cole, Anna P. Lally, Robert L. Morris, Kathleen N. Morgan

Published in 2021

Scientific review of the levels of susceptibility to the Covid-19 virus of various animal species that have contact with humans. Dogs and pigs appear to have low susceptibility levels. Ferrets, mink, some hamster species, cats and non-human primates show high susceptibility levels.

Document Types: Scientific review

Keywords:Societal issues, Human-animal relationships, Pathogen transfer

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Tail-Biting in Pigs: A Scoping Review

Maggie Henry, Hannah Jansen, Maria del Rocio Amezcua, Terri L. O'Sullivan, Lee Niel, Anna Kate Shoveller, Robert M. Friendship

Published in 2021

Scientific review setting out to identify articles on risk factors and interventions associated with tail biting in pigs, along with data gaps in the literature.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Porcines

Keywords:Adaptation of the animal to the environment, Enrichment, Housing, Risk management, Societal issues, Mutilation, Pain

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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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Effects of Holding Density on the Welfare of Zebrafish: A Systematic Review

Marica Andersson, Petronella Kettunen

Published in 2021

A scientific review of the effects of stocking density for juvenile and adult zebrafish used in research on growth, reproduction, stress responses (including behaviour), water quality and disease outbreaks. It recommends that stocking density should be included in guidelines for housing and should be discussed in the materials and methods sections of papers where zebrafish are used.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Fish

Keywords:Housing, Living environment, Stress

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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 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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The effects of heat stress on the behaviour of dairy cows - a review

Piotr Herbut,Gundula Hoffmann, Sabina Angrecka, Dorota Godyń, Frederico Márcio Corrêa Vieira, Krzysztof Adamczyk, Robert Kupczyński

Published in 2021

A scientific review reporting on behavioural changes in dairy cows exposed to heat stress conditions and discussing herd management strategies to mitigate the consequences of excessive temperatures on animal welfare.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Bovines

Keywords:Animal-based measurements, Living environment, Livestock farming system

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The Human Aspect of Horse Care: How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted the Wellbeing of Equestrian Industry Stakeholders

Ashley Ward, Kate Stephen, Caroline Argo, Christine Watson, Patricia Harris, Madalina Neacsu, Wendy Russell, Dai Grove-White, Philippa Morrison

Published in 2021

Scientific article presenting the results of a survey of equine stakeholders on their feelings about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. It shows that the pandemic has affected veterinarians and horse owners due to restrictions on contact and human-horse interactions. However, the pandemic has also led to initiatives to maintain social links between owners as a remedy for isolation.

Document Types: Scientific review

Animal categories: Equines

Keywords:Adaptation of animals to the environment, Societal issues, Human-animal relationships

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Enhancing the value of meat inspection records for broiler health and welfare surveillance: longitudinal detection of relational patterns

S. N. Buzdugan, P. Alarcon, B. Huntington, J. Rushton, D. P. Blake, J. Guitian

Published in 2021

A scientific paper that uses data from UK abattoir broiler meat inspection records to highlight relationships between different conditions leading to condemnation of batches that would be useful for monitoring animal health and welfare. It highlights relationships that suggest the presence of syndromes in certain months of the year, potentially providing a basis on which to identify surveillance indicators for broiler producers to use.

Document Types: Scientific paper

Animal categories: Poultry

Keywords:Carcass quality, Processing

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