Inter-observer reliability of animal-based welfare indicators included in the Animal Welfare Indicators welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats

This study focuses on the problem of assessing inter-observer reliability (IOR) in the case of dichotomous categorical animal-based welfare indicators and the presence of two observers. Based on observations obtained from Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project surveys conducted on nine dairy goat farms, and using udder asymmetry as an indicator, we compared the performance of the most popular agreement indexes available in the literature: Scott’s π, Cohen’s k, kPABAK, Holsti’s H, Krippendorff’s α, Hubert’s Γ, Janson and Vegelius’ J, Bangdiwala’s B, Andrés and Marzo’s ∆, and Gwet’s γ(AC1). Confidence intervals were calculated using closed formulas of variance estimates for π, k, kPABAK, H, α, Γ, J, ∆, and γ(AC1), while the bootstrap and exact bootstrap methods were used for all the indexes. All the indexes and closed formulas of variance estimates were calculated using Microsoft Excel. The bootstrap method was performed with R software, while the exact bootstrap method was performed with SAS software. k, π, and α exhibited a paradoxical behavior, showing unacceptably low values even in the presence of very high concordance rates. B and γ(AC1) showed values very close to the concordance rate, independently of its value. Both bootstrap and exact bootstrap methods turned out to be simpler compared to the implementation of closed variance formulas and provided effective confidence intervals for all the considered indexes. The best approach for measuring IOR in these cases is the use of B or γ(AC1), with bootstrap or exact bootstrap methods for confidence interval calculation.

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Living the ‘Best Life’ or ‘One Size Fits All’—Stakeholder Perceptions of Racehorse Welfare

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9040134 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 134 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Deborah Butler ◽

Mathilde Valenchon ◽

Rachel Annan ◽

Helen Whay ◽

Siobhan Mullan

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Thematic Analysis ◽

Human Relationship ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Factors Influencing ◽

Main Challenge ◽

Animal Welfare Science ◽

The Uk

The purpose of the study was to explore the perceptions held by British racing industry stakeholders of factors influencing racehorse welfare. Ten focus groups were held across the UK with a total of 42 stakeholders from a range of roles within racehorse care including trainers, stable staff and veterinarians. Participants took part in three exercises. Firstly, to describe the scenarios of a ‘best life’ and the minimum welfare standards a horse in training could be living under. Secondly, to identify the main challenges for racehorse welfare and thirdly, to recall any innovative or uncommon practices to improve welfare they had witnessed. Using thematic analysis, eight themes emerged from the first exercise. Two strands, factors that contribute to maintaining health and the horse-human relationship ran through all eight themes. Across all themes horses living the ‘best life’ were perceived as being treated as individuals rather than being part of a ‘one size fits all’ life when kept under minimum welfare standards. Health was both perceived as the main challenge to welfare as well as one open to innovative practices such as improved veterinary treatments. Data obtained, informed by the knowledge and expertise of experienced stakeholders, combined with practical animal welfare science will be used to develop the first British racehorse welfare assessment protocol.

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Test−Retest Reliability of the ‘Welfare Quality® Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Sows and Piglets’. Part 1. Assessment of the Welfare Principle of ‘Appropriate Behavior’

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani9070398 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (7) ◽

pp. 398 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Friedrich ◽

Krieter ◽

Kemper ◽

Czycholl

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Correlation Coefficient ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Appropriate Behavior ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Smallest Detectable Change ◽

Welfare Quality ◽

Animal Welfare Assessment ◽

Test Retest Reliability

The present study’s aim was to assess the test−retest reliability (TRR) of the ‘Welfare Quality® animal welfare assessment protocol for sows and piglets’ focusing on the welfare principle ‘appropriate behavior’. TRR was calculated using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient (RS), intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), smallest detectable change (SDC), and limits of agreement (LoA). Principal component analysis (PCA) was used for deeper analysis of the Qualitative Behavior Assessment (QBA). The study was conducted on thirteen farms in Northern Germany, which were visited five times by the same observer. Farm visits 1 (F1; day 0) were compared to farm visits 2 to 5 (F2–F5). The QBA indicated no TRR when applying the statistical parameters introduced above (e.g., ‘playful‘ (F1–F4) RS 0.08 ICC 0.00 SDC 0.50 LoA [−0.62, 0.38]). The PCA detected contradictory TRR. Acceptable TRR could be found for parts of the instantaneous scan sampling (e.g., negative social behavior (F1–F3) RS 0.45 ICC 0.37 SDC 0.02 LoA [−0.03, 0.02]). The human−animal relationship test solely achieved poor TRR, whereas scans for stereotypies showed sufficient TRR (e.g., floor licking (F1–F4) RS 0.63 ICC 0.52 SDC 0.05 LoA [−0.08, 0.04]). Concluding, the principle ‘appropriate behavior’ does not represent TRR and further investigation is needed before implementation on-farm.

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Results of testing the prototype of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats in 30 intensive farms in Northern Italy

Italian Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1080/1828051x.2016.1150795 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 283-293 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Monica Battini ◽

Sara Barbieri ◽

Ana Vieira ◽

George Stilwell ◽

Silvana Mattiello

Keyword(s):

Northern Italy ◽

Dairy Goats ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol

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Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Cows in Extensive Beef Cow–Calf Systems in New Zealand. Part 1: Assessing the Feasibility of Identified Animal Welfare Assessment Measures

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10091597 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1597 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Y. Baby Kaurivi ◽

Richard Laven ◽

Rebecca Hickson ◽

Tim Parkinson ◽

Kevin Stafford

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Beef Cow ◽

Cattle Management ◽

Assessment Measures ◽

Animal Welfare Assessment ◽

Cow Calf ◽

On Farm

Potential measures suitable for assessing welfare in pasture-based beef cow–calf systems in New Zealand were identified from Welfare Quality and UC Davis Cow-Calf protocols. These were trialled on a single farm and a potential protocol of 50 measures created. The aim of this study was to assess the feasibility of the measures included in this protocol on multiple farms in order, to develop a credible animal welfare assessment protocol for pasture-based cow–calf farms systems in New Zealand. The assessment protocol was trialled on 25 farms over two visits and took a total of 2.5 h over both visits for a 100-cow herd. The first visit in autumn included an animal welfare assessment of 3366 cows during pregnancy scanning, while the second visit in winter included a questionnaire-guided interview to assess cattle management and health, and a farm resource evaluation. Through a process of eliminating unsuitable measures, adjustments of modifiable measures and retaining feasible measures, a protocol with 32 measures was created. The application of the protocol on the farms showed that not all measures are feasible for on-farm assessment, and categorisation of identified animal welfare measures into scores that indicate a threshold of acceptable and non-acceptable welfare standards is necessary.

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Equid Assessment, Research and Scoping (EARS): The Development and Implementation of a New Equid Welfare Assessment and Monitoring Tool

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10020297 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (2) ◽

pp. 297 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Zoe Raw ◽

Joao B. Rodrigues ◽

Karen Rickards ◽

Joe Ryding ◽

Stuart L. Norris ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Future Development ◽

Monitoring Tool ◽

Assessment Data ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Welfare Indicators ◽

Assessment And Monitoring ◽

The Many ◽

Assessment Research

The assessment of animal welfare poses numerous challenges, yet an emerging approach is the consolidation of existing knowledge into new frameworks which can offer standardised approaches to welfare assessment across a variety of contexts. Multiple tools exist for measuring the welfare of equids, but such tools have typically been developed for specific contexts. There is no ‘one size fits all’ which means that resulting datasets are generally non-comparable, creating a barrier to knowledge-sharing and collaboration between the many organisations working to improve equid welfare around the globe. To address this, we developed the Equid Assessment, Research and Scoping (EARS) tool, which incorporates pre-existing validated welfare assessment methods alongside new welfare indicators to deliver a larger and more comprehensive series of welfare indicators than currently exists, creating a single resource that can be used to assess equid welfare in any context. We field-trialled three welfare assessment protocols within the EARS tool, and applied these to welfare assessment of equids in a variety of contexts across nineteen countries. The EARS tool proved a useful, versatile and rapid method for collecting welfare assessment data and we collected 7464 welfare assessments in a period of fifteen months. We evaluate the EARS tool and provide ideas for future development.

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Identification of Suitable Animal Welfare Assessment Measures for Extensive Beef Systems in New Zealand

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture9030066 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 66 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Y. Kaurivi ◽

Richard Laven ◽

Rebecca Hickson ◽

Kevin Stafford ◽

Tim Parkinson

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Beef Cattle ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Farm Animal Welfare ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Assessment Measures ◽

Animal Welfare Assessment ◽

Cow Calf ◽

Cattle Systems

Farm animal welfare assessment protocols use different measures depending on production systems and the purpose of the assessment. There is no standardized validated animal welfare protocol for the assessment of beef cattle farms in New Zealand, despite the importance of beef exports to the country. The aim of this study was therefore to identify welfare measures that would be suitable for an animal welfare assessment protocol for use in extensive pasture-based cow–calf beef cattle systems in New Zealand. The proposed animal welfare assessment measures were selected from the Welfare Quality protocol and the rangeland-based UC Davis Cow–Calf Health and Handling assessment protocol. Measures that were deemed impractical and/or unsuitable were excluded from the protocol. After testing the applicability of selected measures at one farm, additional measures that were deemed to be practical to undertake in New Zealand were identified and incorporated into the protocol. The intention was to identify animal welfare indicators that were assessable in the yard during a single farm visit, a questionnaire guided interview, and a farm resource assessment visit that evaluated cattle health and management. Further testing of the 50 measures that were identified as being appropriate will be undertaken on commercial beef farms to develop a practicable welfare protocol for extensive pasture-based beef systems.

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