scholarly journals Welfare assessment of cattle submitted to equestrian sporting events

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. e34510817476
Author(s):  
Gustavo Rodrigues Queiroz ◽  
Alexandre Mendes Amude ◽  
Aline Tramontini Zanluchi de Queiroz ◽  
Sabrina Ribeiro ◽  
Francisco Thiago Vieira Oliveira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Sporting Events ◽  
Horse Breed ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Quarter Horse ◽  
Comfort Food ◽  
Behavioral Aspects

The concern with the animal’s welfare has become increasingly frequent and the use of cattle in sporting events has aroused discussions about the preservation and integrity of these animals. The objective of this work was to evaluate whether the cattle participating in the team roping modality receive all support regarding the animal welfare criteria. During the 41st National Championship of the Quarter Horse Breed of Work and Conformation, aspects of animal welfare of 410 cattle that participated in the team roping were evaluated. Behavioral aspects were observed before, during and after the end of the competition, in addition to quantifying the number of runs per animal, the presence of ectoparasites, thermal comfort, food and hydration. It was possible to conclude that the environment in which the tests were carried out, the feeding conditions, the space and the thermal comfort meet the criteria of animal welfare.

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

Animals ◽  
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.

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

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.

scholarly journals Biometric profile of Quarter Horses in the region of Manaus, Brazil

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e4059108854
Author(s):  
Cláudia Elisa Martins Vieira ◽  
Mafes Dantas da Silva ◽  
Juliana Vasquez Cabus ◽  
Rejane dos Santos Sousa ◽  
Isadora karolina Freitas de Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Length ◽  
Head Length ◽  
Medium Size ◽  
Neck Length ◽  
Horse Breed ◽  
Morphometric Measurements ◽  
Quarter Horse ◽  
Sport Activities ◽  
Northern Brazil

Quarter Horse breed (QH) has been more recently used in sports in Northern Brazil, however it does not have yet biometric evaluation in order to compare to horses from other Brazilian regions, where QH has a larger historic. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess and present the biometric profile of Quarter horse breed raised and used in sport activities (barrel racing and vaquejada) in the region of Manaus, AM, Brazil. For this purpose, eighty-two (82) QH, adults, were evaluated through photographs analyzed by the ImageJ® 1.46r software. Eight (8) linear morphometric measurements were performed per animal, namely: Withers height (WHe); Croup height (CrH); Codilho height (CoH); Body length (BL; Neck length (NL); Dorsal-lumbar length (DLL); Scapula length (SL) and Head length (HL). Our results were within the racial standard demanded by the Brazilian Quarter Horse Breeders Association, which demonstrates a racial standardization in the region. The animals were classified as having medium size, eumetric. Regarding the average values (in cm), we obtained: WHe of 147.53 (142.76 to 155.33), CrH of 147.38 (141.12 to 154.48), CoH of 83.13 (81.51 of 87.07), BL of 149.15 (147.20 to 152.70), NL of 57.12 (55.2 to 57.3), DLL of 54.94 (52.9 to 57.0) SL of 54.35 (53.4 to 55.20) and HL of 63.70 (62.20 to 64.60). Our findings suggest similarity between the animals of the Quarter Horse breed raised Manaus-AM region with animals from other Brazilian regions. as well as standardization within the required racial parameters. All animals showed good proportions for the barrel racing and vaquejada practices.

scholarly journals Is the profitability of Canadian tiestall farms associated with their performance on an animal welfare assessment?

2018 ◽  
Vol 101 (3) ◽  
pp. 2359-2369 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Villettaz Robichaud ◽  
J. Rushen ◽  
A.M. de Passillé ◽  
E. Vasseur ◽  
D.B. Haley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
Animal Welfare Assessment

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

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals 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 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 398 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals How Can We Assess Positive Welfare in Ruminants?

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 758 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattiello ◽  
Battini ◽  
De Rosa ◽  
Napolitano ◽  
Dwyer
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Present Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Validity Evidence ◽  
Sampling Strategies ◽  
Qualitative Behaviour ◽  
Nutrition And Health ◽  
Welfare Assessment ◽  
On Farm

Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required.

scholarly journals 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 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1597 ◽  
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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