scholarly journals Dairy cattle welfare as a result of human-animal relationship – a review

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 601-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Adamczyk
Keyword(s):  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Information Flow ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Reliable Information ◽  
The Public ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Slaughter Cattle ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Human Responsibility

Abstract Despite the various concepts of human-animal relationship, the welfarist approach to this problem is one of the most often considered in theory and used in practice. When dealing with issues related to dairy cattle welfare (DCW), it is necessary to take into account both the reality characteristic for animals used to obtain milk (e.g. the problem of automatic milking of cows) and for slaughter cattle (e.g. slaughter of culled animals). It is not surprising, therefore, that issues related to DCW are the focus of the attention of the public, researchers, breeders as well as the dairy and meat industries. The aim of this article was to possibly most comprehensively cover the above-mentioned issues, although due to its huge scope it was obviously necessary to limit the article to what I think are currently most important issues. That is why in the review I (1) characterized the issues related to the division of human responsibility for DCW; (2) discussed the importance of technology to human-animal relationship; (3) elaborated the matter of stress, emotionality of animals and their cognitive abilities in the aspect of “negative” and “positive” DCW; (4) considered the possibilities of non-invasive assessment of animal welfare in the future and (5) discussed topics related to improving the conditions of the slaughter of animals. In summary, it was proposed paying more attention than has been paid until now, to the assessment of positive DCW in scientific research and breeding practice. I also drew attention to the necessity of reliable information flow on the line of the breeder/milk producer - industry - consumer, as negligence in this area is one of the reasons for public disinformation regarding the level of animal welfare.

Becoming activist: the mediation of consumers in Animals Australia’s Make it Possible campaign

2019 ◽  
Vol 172 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-60
Author(s):  
Jane Mummery ◽  
Debbie Rodan
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Public Sphere ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Lived Experiences ◽  
Law Reform ◽  
The Public ◽  
Ethical Consumers ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Advocacy Organisation

In 2008, the Australian Law Reform Commission journal, Reform, called out animal welfare as Australia’s ‘next great social justice movement’ in 2018; however, public mobilisation around animal welfare is still a contested issue in Australia. The question stands as to how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activism given that animal activism is presented in the public sphere as dampening the economic livelihood of Australia, with some animal activism described as ‘akin to terrorism’. The questions, then, are as follows: how to mobilise everyday mainstream consumers into supporting animal activist ideals? How to frame and communicate animal activist ideals so that they can come to inform and change the behaviour and self-understandings of mainstream consumers? This article is an investigation into the possible production and mobilisation of animal activists from mainstream consumers through the work of one digital campaign, Make it Possible. Delivered by the peak Australian animal advocacy organisation, Animals Australia, and explicitly targeting the lived experiences and conditions of animals in factory farming, Make it Possible reached nearly 12 million viewers across Australia and has directly impacted on the reported behaviour and self-understandings of over 291,000 Australians to date, as well as impacting policy decisions made by government and industry. More specifically, our interest is to engage a new materialist lens to draw out how this campaign operates to transform consumers into veg*ns (vegans/vegetarians), activists and ethical consumers who materially commit to and live revised beliefs regarding human–animal relations.

scholarly journals Design of Free Stalls for Dairy Herds: A Review

Ruminants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Frank van Eerdenburg ◽  
Lars Ruud
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Design ◽  
Dairy Cattle ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Milk Yield ◽  
High Impact ◽  
The Body ◽  
Dairy Herds ◽  
Productive Life ◽  
To Come ◽  
Available Information

Lying is an important behavior of dairy cattle. Cows should spend more than 50% of a day lying as it has a high impact on their milk yield and animal welfare. The design, size, and flooring properties of the free stalls influence the time cows spend lying, the way they lie down, and their rising movements. The purpose of this review is to provide an overview of the currently available information with the aim to assist farmers and advisors to come to an optimal design of the free stalls. The design of the free stalls should enable the cows to move and lie in positions as natural as possible. Cows should rest, with all parts of the body, on a clean, dry and soft bed, be able to stretch their front legs forward, lie on their sides with unobstructed space for their neck and head, and rest with their heads against their flanks without hindrance from a partition. When they stand, they should not be hindered by neck rails, partitions, or supports. A comfortable place for cows to lie down helps cows to stay healthy, improve welfare, and increase milk yield. Hence, the probability of a longer productive life for the cows increases and the number of replacements per year decreases.

scholarly journals The Perceived Impact of The First UK Covid-19 Lockdown on Companion Animal Welfare and Behaviour: A Mixed-Method Study of Associations with Owner Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 6171
Author(s):  
Emily Shoesmith ◽  
Luciana Santos de Assis ◽  
Lion Shahab ◽  
Elena Ratschen ◽  
Paul Toner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Companion Animals ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Companion Animal ◽  
Free Text ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Human Animal

Background: Companion animals may be a positive presence for their owners during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the welfare of a companion animal is strongly influenced by the behaviour of their owners, as well as their physical and social environment. We aimed to investigate the reported changes in companion animal welfare and behaviour and to examine the association between these changes and companion animal owners’ mental health. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey of UK residents over 18 years of age was conducted between April and June 2020 (n = 5926). The questionnaire included validated, bespoke items measuring outcomes related to mental health, human-animal bonds and reported changes in animal welfare and behaviour. The final item of the survey invited open-ended free-text responses, allowing participants to describe experiences associated with human-animal relationships during the first UK lockdown phase. Results: Animal owners made up 89.8% of the sample (n = 5323), of whom 67.3% reported changes in their animal’s welfare and behaviour during the first lockdown phase (n = 3583). These reported changes were reduced to a positive (0–7) and negative (0–5) welfare scale, following principal component analysis (PCA) of 17 items. Participants reported more positive changes for cats, whereas more negative changes were reported for dogs. Thematic analysis identified three main themes relating to the positive and negative impact on companion animals of the Covid-19 pandemic. Generalised linear models indicated that companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores pre-lockdown reported fewer negative changes in animal welfare and behaviour. However, companion animal owners with poorer mental health scores since lockdown reported more changes, both positive and negative, in animal welfare and behaviour. Conclusion: Our findings extend previous insights into perceived welfare and behaviour changes on a very limited range of species to a wider a range of companion animals. Owner mental health status has a clear, albeit small, effect on companion animal welfare and behaviour.

scholarly journals Human–animal relationship influences husbandry practices, animal welfare and productivity in pig farming

animal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 100103
Author(s):  
F. Pol ◽  
F. Kling-Eveillard ◽  
F. Champigneulle ◽  
E. Fresnay ◽  
M. Ducrocq ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Pig Farming ◽  
Husbandry Practices ◽  
Human Animal

Navigating human and non-human animal relations: Okja, Foucault and animal welfare laws

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-268
Author(s):  
Michelle Gunawan
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Double Standard ◽  
Power Relationships ◽  
Moral Significance ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
The Law ◽  
Foucauldian Analysis

This article draws upon a Foucauldian analysis of power to conceptualise the human and non-human animal relations throughout the Netflix film Okja. The article examines how ‘super-pig’ Okja’s experiences (and subjectivities) are deeply shaped by the ‘apparatuses’ within which Okja is situated. As the power relationships and practices of ‘domination’ portrayed in Okja highlight, the legal categorisation of animals and their foundations within mainstream discourses reflect, and perpetuate, society’s understanding of the moral significance of animals. Okja’s transformation throughout the film, as well as her very existence as a hybrid ‘super-pig’, confuses the legal categorisation of non-human animals and highlights a double standard in the law.

Animals in Political Theory

2015 ◽  
pp. 42-64
Author(s):  
Sue Donaldson ◽  
Will Kymlicka
Keyword(s):  
Political Theory ◽  
Animal Rights ◽  
Moral Status ◽  
Animal Ethics ◽  
Moral Rights ◽  
The Public ◽  
History Of ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Animal Question ◽  
Blind Spots

Western political theorists have largely ignored the animal question, assuming that animals have no place in our theories of democracy, citizenship, membership, sovereignty, and the public good. Conversely, animal ethicists have largely ignored political theory, assuming that we can theorize the moral status and moral rights of animals without drawing on the categories and concepts of political theory. This chapter traces the history of this separation between animals and political theory, examines the resulting intellectual blind spots for animal ethics, and reviews recent attempts to bring the two together. Situating animal rights within political theory has the potential to identify new models of justice in human-animal relations, and to open up new areas of scholarship and research.

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