Welfare Assessment and Humane Endpoints

AbstractWe study the welfare impact of revenue management, a practice which is widely spread in the transport industry, but whose impact on consumer surplus remains unclear. We develop a theoretical model of revenue management allowing for heterogeneity in product characteristics, capacity constraints, consumer preferences, and probabilities of arrival. We also introduce dynamic competition between revenue managers. We solve this model computationally and recover the optimal pricing strategies. We find that revenue management is generally welfare enhancing as it raises the number of sales.

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Farm Animals Are Long Away from Natural Behavior: Open Questions and Operative Consequences on Animal Welfare

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11030724 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 724

Author(s):

Alberto Cesarani ◽

Giuseppe Pulina

Keyword(s):

Animal Welfare ◽

Farm Animal ◽

Farm Animals ◽

Natural State ◽

Natural Behavior ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Open Questions ◽

Naive Approach

The concept of welfare applied to farm animals has undergone a remarkable evolution. The growing awareness of citizens pushes farmers to guarantee the highest possible level of welfare to their animals. New perspectives could be opened for animal welfare reasoning around the concept of domestic, especially farm, animals as partial human artifacts. Therefore, it is important to understand how much a particular behavior of a farm animal is far from the natural one of its ancestors. This paper is a contribution to better understand the role of genetics of the farm animals on their behavior. This means that the naïve approach to animal welfare regarding returning animals to their natural state should be challenged and that welfare assessment should be considered.

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Assessing dairy cow welfare during the grazing and housing periods on spring-calving, pasture-based dairy farms

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skab093 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Robin E Crossley ◽

Eddie A M Bokkers ◽

Natasha Browne ◽

Katie Sugrue ◽

Emer Kennedy ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dairy Cow ◽

Large Scale ◽

Dairy Farms ◽

Nasal Discharge ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Welfare Indicators ◽

Signed Rank ◽

Cow Welfare ◽

Head Neck ◽

Ocular Discharge

Abstract The different periods characterizing spring-calving, pasture-based dairy systems common in Ireland have seldom been the focus of large-scale dairy cow welfare research. Thus, the aim of this study was to devise and conduct an animal-based welfare assessment during both the grazing and housing periods on spring-calving, pasture-based dairy farms, to identify areas for improvement and establish benchmarks for indicators of good welfare. Assessment of seven animal-based welfare indicators was conducted during two visits (one each at grazing and housing) to 82 commercial dairy farms in southern Ireland. Herd-level descriptive statistics were performed for all welfare indicators at each visit, and differences between visits were analyzed using paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. A mean of 9% and 10% clinically lame cows (mobility score 2 and 3) were observed at housing and grazing respectively. Recommended body condition scores (BCS) were not met for a mean of 13% of cows at grazing and 23% at housing, with more over-conditioned cows present at housing than grazing (P < 0.001). Ocular discharge was uncommon in both periods. Prevalence of moderate and severe nasal discharge combined were lower during housing (5%) than grazing (7%). In both periods, similar mean levels of tail injury were observed; 2 to 3% of cows with tail lacerations, 9% with broken tails, and 8% (measured at housing only) with docked tails. Integument alterations involved primarily hair-loss and were most prevalent on the hindquarters (26%) during grazing, and on the head-neck-back region (66%), and the hindquarters (32%) during housing. Cows displayed an avoidance distance of > 1 m (indicative of a fearful response) from an approaching human in an average of 82% of grazing cows and 42% to 75% of housed cows, dependent on test location. Opportunities to improve welfare in this system were identified in the areas of tail injury prevention, nasal health and the management of indoor housing and feeding. The performance of the top 20% of farms for each welfare indicator was used to establish benchmarks of: 0 to 5% clinical lameness; 0 to 12% of cows outside recommended BCS; 0 to 27% ocular discharge; 2 to 16% nasal discharge; 0% tail lacerations and docked tails, and 0 to 3% tail breaks; 0 to 14% IA; and 4 to 74% for avoidance distance of > 1 m. These represent attainable targets for spring-calving pasture-based farms to promote good dairy cow welfare.

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PSIV-33 The Animal Welfare Assessment Contest® as a Tool to Promote Animal Welfare Education

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skaa278.815 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 98 (Supplement_4) ◽

pp. 468-468

Author(s):

Sharon Kuca ◽

Lindsey McKinney ◽

Cia Johnson

Keyword(s):

Graduate Students ◽

Animal Welfare ◽

Educational Tool ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Behavioral Indicators ◽

Animal Welfare Science ◽

Computer Based ◽

Animal Welfare Assessment ◽

Strongly Agree

Abstract Established in 2001, the Animal Welfare Assessment Contest® (AWJAC®) aims to be an innovative educational tool for enhancing understanding and awareness of welfare issues affecting animals used for human purposes (e.g., research, agriculture, entertainment, companionship). The contest is open to participation by veterinary, undergraduate, and graduate students who may participate as individuals or as part of a team. A limited number of veterinarians are also eligible to compete as non-placing participants. Participation in the contest entails assessment of live and computer-based scenarios encompassing data, photographs, and videos of animals in comparable situations. Students then use the information obtained to rank the welfare of the animals in those situations on the basis of physiologic and behavioral indicators, with attention to facilities and management, and present their analyses orally to expert judges. The species featured change each year of the contest. At the completion of each contest, participants and coaches are asked to anonymously complete a written survey. The quantitative and qualitative results of this survey are used to determine if the contest has achieved its aims and incorporate suggestions for improvement of future contests. The majority of survey respondents from the five contests held between 2014–2018 report they either strongly agree or agree that the AWJAC increased their knowledge of animal welfare science (98%, n = 549) and was an overall valuable experience (99%, n = 547) that they would recommend to their peers (98%, n = 550). Respondents cited networking opportunities and diversity of species featured in the contest as key reasons the contest is valuable. Given these results, the AWJAC is successfully achieving its aims to increase animal welfare knowledge in an innovative way.

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Developing Recommendations for Cumulative Endpoints and Lifetime Use for Research Animals

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11072031 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 2031

Author(s):

Elizabeth A. Nunamaker ◽

Shawn Davis ◽

Carly I. O’Malley ◽

Patricia V. Turner

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tools ◽

Future Research ◽

Affective States ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Research And Teaching ◽

Scientific Advancement ◽

Institutional Strategies ◽

Made In ◽

Use Of Research

Research animals are important for scientific advancement, and therefore, their long-term welfare needs to be monitored to not only minimize suffering, but to provide positive affective states and experiences. Currently, there is limited guidance in countries around the world on cumulative and experimental endpoints. This paper aims to explore current opinions and institutional strategies regarding cumulative use and endpoints through a scoping survey and review of current regulations and welfare assessment tools, and ultimately to provide recommendations for assessment of cumulative and lifetime use of research animals. The survey found that only 36% of respondents indicated that their institution had cumulative use endpoint policies in place, but these policies may be informal and/or vary by species. Most respondents supported more specific guidelines but expressed concerns about formal policies that may limit their ability to make case-by-case decisions. The wide diversity in how research animals are used makes it difficult for specific policies to be implemented. Endpoint decisions should be made in an objective manner using standardized welfare assessment tools. Future research should focus on robust, efficient welfare assessment tools that can be used to support planning and recommendations for cumulative endpoints and lifetime use of research and teaching animals.

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