scholarly journals Welfare of beef cattle in Australian feedlots: a review of the risks and measures

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (13) ◽  
pp. 1569
Author(s):  
Hannah E. Salvin ◽  
Angela M. Lees ◽  
Linda M. Cafe ◽  
Ian G. Colditz ◽  
Caroline Lee
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Animal Protein ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Global Demand ◽  
Proxy Indicators ◽  
Management Factors

The rising global demand for animal protein is leading to intensification of livestock production systems. At the same time, societal concerns about sustainability and animal welfare in intensive systems is increasing. This review examines the risks to welfare for beef cattle within commercial feedlots in Australia. Several aspects of the feedlot environment have the potential to compromise the physical and psychological welfare of cattle if not properly monitored and managed. These include, but are not limited to, animal factors such as the influence of genetics, temperament and prior health, as well as management factors such as diet, pen design, resource provision, pregnancy management, and stock-person attitudes and skills. While current industry and producer initiatives exist to address some of these issues, continuous improvements in welfare requires accurate, reliable and repeatable measures to allow quantification of current and future welfare states. Existing measures of welfare are explored as well as proxy indicators that may signal the presence of improved or reduced welfare. Finally, potential future measures of welfare that are currently under development are discussed and recommendations for future research are made.

The ethical basis of intensive livestock production systems

2001 ◽  
Vol 2001 ◽  
pp. 266-266
Author(s):  
G. Gatward
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Animal Rights Movement ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact

Many of the ethical issues regarding the livestock production systems of the late twentieth century have concentrated on the process of intensification. The extent of public disquiet at the welfare and ethical implications of intensification has been reflected in the burgeoning membership of animal welfare and animal rights organisations. The reasons for this increase as well as the impact that it has had on the livestock industry can be traced back to the 1960s, to factors such as the growing urbanisation of the population and especially the emergence of the animal rights movement which focused attention on a wide range of issues including the human exploitation of other animal species. This in turn led to a demarcation between those who supported the animal welfare cause and those who argued for animal rights.

The ethical basis of intensive livestock production systems

2002 ◽  
Vol 2002 ◽  
pp. 245-245
Author(s):  
G. Gatward
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Animal Rights Movement ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Impact

Many of the ethical issues regarding the livestock production systems of the late twentieth century have concentrated on the process of intensification. The extent of public disquiet at the welfare and ethical implications of intensification has been reflected in the burgeoning membership of animal welfare and animal rights organisations. The reasons for this increase as well as the impact that it has had on the livestock industry can be traced back to the 1960s, to factors such as the growing urbanisation of the population and especially the emergence of the animal rights movement which focused attention on a wide range of issues including the human exploitation of other animal species. This in turn led to a demarcation between those who supported the animal welfare cause and those who argued for animal rights.

Animal health and welfare in organic livestock production – a review of the current situation

2003 ◽  
Vol 2003 ◽  
pp. 238-238
Author(s):  
M. Hovi
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
Conventional Systems ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Organic Livestock Production ◽  
Organic Standards

According to the EC Regulation 1804/99, health and welfare of organic livestock should be promoted primarily by preventive measures using appropriate breeds, feeds and feeding practices and husbandry techniques for the species in question and by implementing stable social conditions for breeding animals (CEC, 1999). Whilst the EC Regulation on organic livestock production came into force fairly recently in August 2000 and has hardly had a chance to have an impact on existing organic production systems, there is a growing body of epidemiological evidence on the impact of organic management on the health and welfare of livestock. Furthermore, a three-year networking project, the Network for Animal Health and Welfare in Organic Agriculture (NAHWOA), between 17 institutes from 13 different EU countries has recently published their conclusions and recommendations on animal health and welfare in organic production systems (Anon, 2002). A recent review of literature (Hovi et al., in press) and the NAHWOA conclusions suggest that animal health situation in organic livestock systems is similar to that found in conventional systems. Some differences in the prevalence of different conditions exist. A typical example of higher dry period but lower lactation period levels of mastitis in organic than in conventional systems is presented in Figure 1. It has been suggested that the minimal organic standards and their implementation via certification procedure are likely to provide several preconditions for good living conditions for farm animals (Sundrum, 2001), and the NAHWOA concludes that the current evidence supports the claim that organic livestock production often provides better welfare than conventional production systems, particularly by providing more freedom for species-specific behaviour for livestock. It has, however, been suggested that the organic standards do not necessarily provide a balanced approach to animal welfare and that some conflicts between welfare aims and other organic farming objectives may exist (Anon, 2002). An example of how experts perceive the impact of organic standards on animal welfare is given in Figure 2.

Farm animal welfare: the future.

2020 ◽  
pp. 173-190
Author(s):  
Alistair Stott ◽  
Bouda Vosough Ahmadi
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
The Future ◽  
Animal Welfare Science

Abstract Science can help us understand what animals want and economics can provide the understanding of human motivation needed to deliver such wants. In our view, what needs further development in future is for economics and information/communication science and technology to channel awareness into appropriate action. This chapter elaborates on this idea by providing some illustrative examples. Focusing on animal health and welfare, it argues that there is much scope for improvement in profit and welfare on commercial farms simply by adopting the best disease management approach available. We also emphasize the importance of systems modelling and operations research (OR) in the future to ensure that animal welfare taps into the growing opportunities that developments in these methods are likely to bring. The chapter also argues that OR can provide a bridge between animal welfare science, economics and business to deliver improvements in animal welfare through food markets. The importance of big data and precision livestock farming in livestock production/reproduction, animal health and welfare, and the environmental impact of livestock production are also discussed. New genetic approaches to optimize livestock resilience and efficiency are highlighted. We argue that tackling difficult problems, such as sustainability (that encompasses animal welfare alongside environment and climate change), efficiency and resilience in farm animal production systems, is and will remain a vital focus of research in the agri-food sector. Research methods and governance still need to change to properly reflect this. It is envisaged that animal welfare will be affected by these developments and should, wherever appropriate, be explicitly considered.

scholarly journals Bioeconomy and Livestock Production Nexus: A Bibliometric Network Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 12350
Author(s):  
Aikaterini Paltaki ◽  
Anastasios Michailidis ◽  
Fotios Chatzitheodoridis ◽  
Konstantinos Zaralis ◽  
Efstratios Loizou
Keyword(s):  
Network Analysis ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
World Population ◽  
Main Research

Over the last couple of decades, the livestock production systems of the agri-food sector increase meat production in order to meet the demand and adapt to satisfy the food preferences of the continuously increasingly world population. This fact, along with the promotion of sustainable production, has brought to light the topic of bioeconomy. The rapid increase in publications on the research area of bioeconomy has become the motivation for this study in order to analyze its relation with livestock production. This study provides a thorough review of the scientific literature on the bioeconomy of livestock production. The bibliometric network analysis (i.e., software VOSviewer) were performed over the time frame of 2004–2021. The results identified 624 documents bioeconomy of livestock production by 160 research organizations from 83 countries. This paper visualizes the strongest links about livestock production bioeconomy, main research topics, most influential countries, authors, and organizations, as well as high-frequency keywords. Therefore, this study contributes to building global bioeconomy policies and encouraging the livestock sector to implement bioeconomy practices. The research gap identified in many countries should be the trigger for future research in this subject.

Public perceptions of undercover investigations in livestock farming: An end that justifies the means?

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-47
Author(s):  
M Schulze ◽  
A Risius ◽  
A Spiller
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Sample Survey ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
The Media ◽  
Age Range

Secretly taken photographs of livestock production systems, representing animal welfare violations, regularly appear in the media and initiate discussions as to the legitimacy of overriding legal regulations in order to document animal welfare standards. This paper focuses on the public perspective and compares different forms of undercover investigation, weighing animal welfare against the invasion of farmers' privacy. For this purpose, an exploratory online survey was conducted in Germany (n = 292). Participants were carefully selected to ensure that age range, education level and sex reflected the distribution of the society as a whole. In a split-sample survey, each participant was confronted with three scenarios. The scenarios were mapped using pictures showing various levels of farm conditions combined with small information segments describing the invasion of farmers' privacy. Participants evaluated the scenarios for their perceived legitimacy and whether entering the premises should be punished. All forms of undercover investigation were perceived as legitimate by most respondents. Perceived legitimacy was considerably higher when obvious animal abuse was uncovered. Apart from where damage to property was involved, which was mostly considered as unacceptable, harsher punishment for animal welfare organisations generally obtained little social approval. The public's increasing awareness of farm animal welfare overruled social norms regarding farmers' privacy, and thereby demonstrated the importance of animal welfare in society. Approval of undercover investigations indicated that changes in housing and handling conditions as well as improvement in control mechanisms are necessary to increase animal welfare and thus public acceptance of livestock production.

scholarly journals A Retrospective Literature Evaluation of the Integration of Stress Physiology Indices, Animal Welfare and Climate Change Assessment of Livestock

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1287
Author(s):  
Edward Narayan ◽  
Michelle Barreto ◽  
Georgia-Constantina Hantzopoulou ◽  
Alan Tilbrook
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Physiological Stress ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Stress Physiology ◽  
Objective Measures ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Animal Welfare Assessment ◽  
The Impact

In this retrospective study, we conducted a desktop-based analysis of published literature using the ScienceDirect™ search engine to determine the proportion of livestock research within the last 7 years (2015–2021) that have applied animal welfare assessment combining objective measures of physiological stress and evaluation of climate change factors in order to provide an account of livestock productivity. From the search results, 563 published articles were reviewed. We found that the majority of the literature had discussed animal production outcomes (n = 491) and animal welfare (n = 453) either individually or in conjunction with another topic. The most popular occurrence was the combination of animal welfare assessment, objective measures of stress physiology and production outcomes discussed collectively (n = 218). We found that only 125 articles had discussed the impact of climate change (22.20%) on livestock production and/or vice versa. Furthermore, only 9.4% (n = 53) of articles had discussed all four factors and published research was skewed towards the dairy sector. Overall, this retrospective paper highlights that although research into animal welfare assessment, objective measures of stress and climate change has been applied across livestock production systems (monogastrics and ruminants), there remains a shortfall of investigation on how these key factors interact to influence livestock production. Furthermore, emerging technologies that can boost the quantitative evaluation of animal welfare are needed for both intensive and extensive production systems.

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