Tilapia On-Farm Welfare Assessment Protocol for Semi-intensive Production Systems

The aim of this study was to develop and test a tilapia on-farm welfare assessment protocol, based on Brazilian semi-intensive production systems. The study included two mains steps: the elaboration of tilapia welfare protocol and its on-field feasibility test. The protocol, including the potential indicators organized into health, environmental, nutritional, and behavioral categories, was tested on three farms. Skin, eyes, gills, jaws, fins, and vertebral spine were individually examined in 139 individual tilapias. Water physicochemical parameters and production system were considered. The overall nutritional status of individuals was assessed through body condition factor, feed conversion ratio, feed crude protein ratio, and feed ingestion behavior. During massive capture, signals of stress, level of crowding, and duration of air exposure were registered. Time required for loss of consciousness was evaluated by clinical reflexes and other behaviors during slaughter. Eye, jaw, and gill scores were different across farms (Kruskal-Wallis test, p = 0.011; 0.015; 0.043, respectively), showing good discrimination power. Critical welfare points were extremely low dissolved oxygen in water, fin and skin lesions, prolonged air exposure during pre-slaughter handling and non-humane slaughter techniques, as decapitation or asphyxia. The protocol presents practical viability and it is an initial step for the development of a tilapia welfare strategy, where the prioritization of critical welfare points, implementation of corrective actions and monitoring of the results is part of a permanent welfare management system.

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Animal-Based Measures for the On-Farm Welfare Assessment of Geese

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10050890 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 890

Author(s):

Carlo Tremolada ◽

Halina Bielińska ◽

Michela Minero ◽

Valentina Ferrante ◽

Elisabetta Canali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Critical Review ◽

Production Systems ◽

Correlation Coefficients ◽

Meat Production ◽

Review Of The Literature ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Observer Reliability ◽

Human Animal ◽

Two Phases ◽

On Farm

Currently, no specific animal-based measures (ABMs) protocols are available for geese in commercial meat production systems. Following a critical review of the literature and consultation of experts, seven ABMs, potentially valid and feasible for the on-farm welfare assessment of geese, were identified and then tested in 12 farms in Poland to assess their inter-observer reliability. Two observers conducted the assessment, which was divided into two phases. First, a handling test assessed the human–animal relationship (HAR), and a 100% inter-observer reliability was achieved by the observers when evaluating the attitudes of stockpeople and the reactions of geese to humans. Next, an animal inspection was conducted, and the observers simultaneously and independently visually evaluated 100 randomly selected geese per farm and assessed whether the selected ABMs could be identified. In terms of inter-observer reliability, high correlation coefficients were found for plumage dirtiness (ρ = 0.745; p < 0.01), twisted wings (ρ = 0.890; p < 0.001), and broken/twisted wings (ρ = 0.858; p < 0.001). The results showed that plumage dirtiness, twisted wings, and broken/twisted wings are valid and reliable measures. Further research should address the reliability of ABMs of geese in other types of production systems.

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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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On-FarmWelfare Assessment Protocol for Adult Dairy Goats in Intensive Production Systems

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani5040393 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 934-950 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Monica Battini ◽

George Stilwell ◽

Ana Vieira ◽

Sara Barbieri ◽

Elisabetta Canali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Dairy Goats ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Intensive Production

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Information Technologies for Welfare Monitoring in Pigs and Their Relation to Welfare Quality®

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13020692 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (2) ◽

pp. 692

Author(s):

Mona L. V. Larsen ◽

Meiqing Wang ◽

Tomas Norton

Keyword(s):

Real Time ◽

Information Technologies ◽

Objective Assessment ◽

Drinking Behaviour ◽

Production Chain ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Pig Production ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Welfare Quality ◽

On Farm

The assessment of animal welfare on-farm is important to ensure that current welfare standards are followed. The current manual assessment proposed by Welfare Quality® (WQ), although being an essential tool, is only a point-estimate in time, is very time consuming to perform, only evaluates a subset of the animals, and is performed by the subjective human. Automation of the assessment through information technologies (ITs) could provide a continuous objective assessment in real-time on all animals. The aim of the current systematic review was to identify ITs developed for welfare monitoring within the pig production chain, evaluate the ITs developmental stage and evaluate how these ITs can be related to the WQ assessment protocol. The systematic literature search identified 101 publications investigating the development of ITs for welfare monitoring within the pig production chain. The systematic literature analysis revealed that the research field is still young with 97% being published within the last 20 years, and still growing with 63% being published between 2016 and mid-2020. In addition, most focus is still on the development of ITs (sensors) for the extraction and analysis of variables related to pig welfare; this being the first step in the development of a precision livestock farming system for welfare monitoring. The majority of the studies have used sensor technologies detached from the animals such as cameras and microphones, and most investigated animal biomarkers over environmental biomarkers with a clear focus on behavioural biomarkers over physiological biomarkers. ITs intended for many different welfare issues have been studied, although a high number of publications did not specify a welfare issue and instead studied a general biomarker such as activity, feeding behaviour and drinking behaviour. The ‘good feeding’ principle of the WQ assessment protocol was the best represented with ITs for real-time on-farm welfare assessment, while for the other principles only few of the included WQ measures are so far covered. No ITs have yet been developed for the ‘Comfort around resting’ and the ‘Good human-animal relationship’ criteria. Thus, the potential to develop ITs for welfare assessment within the pig production is high and much work is still needed to end up with a remote solution for welfare assessment on-farm and in real-time.

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Development of a welfare assessment protocol for dairy calves from birth through to weaning

Animal Welfare ◽

10.7120/09627286.28.3.331 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 331-344 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

J Barry ◽

E Kennedy ◽

R Sayers ◽

IJM de Boer ◽

EAM Bokkers

Keyword(s):

Risk Factors ◽

Dairy Farms ◽

Dairy Calves ◽

Expert Consultation ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

On Farm ◽

General Appearance

The aim of this study was to develop a welfare assessment protocol using different indicators, for pre-weaned dairy calves, that is feasible and time efficient. To this end, the protocol had to combine animal-based indicators (measurements on physiology, general appearance and behaviour) providing the basis for welfare assessment, with resource-based indicators (measurements on management and the environment) providing the basis for identifying risk factors. Indicators, both animal- and resource-based, were selected by a review of existing literature and a process of expert consultation. Following the formulation phase, the protocol was then applied on five Irish dairy farms to develop further for completeness and on-farm feasibility. After each on-farm application, the protocol was critically evaluated, and modifications were made accordingly. Upon completion of the on-farm application phase, a feasible, reliable and time-efficient protocol was produced.

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Animal Welfare Assessment: Can We Develop a Practical, Time-Limited Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Cows in New Zealand?

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani10101918 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 1918

Author(s):

Sujan Sapkota ◽

Richard Laven ◽

Kristina Müller ◽

Nikki Kells

Keyword(s):

New Zealand ◽

Dairy Cattle ◽

Dairy Cows ◽

Dairy Herd ◽

Dairy Farms ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Specific Protocol ◽

Almost All ◽

On Farm

Despite being a leading producer and exporter of dairy products, New Zealand has no industry-recognised welfare assessment protocol. A New Zealand-specific protocol is essential, as almost all dairy farms in New Zealand are pasture-based and housing is rarely used. Therefore, protocols developed for intensive cows are not suitable. The aim of this study was to develop a simple yet practical welfare assessment protocol that could be used to assess the welfare of a dairy herd during one visit timed to occur around milking. Six welfare assessment protocols and four studies of dairy cattle welfare assessments that had some focus on dairy cattle welfare at pasture were used, along with the New Zealand Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare, to identify potential assessments for inclusion in the protocol. Eighty-four potential assessments (20 record-based and 64 that needed assessing on-farm) were identified by this process of welfare assessments. After screening to exclude on-farm assessments that were not relevant, that had only limited practical application in pasture-based dairy cows or that required more time than available, 28 on-farm assessments remained, which were put together with the 20 record-based assessments and were tested for feasibility, practicality and time on two pasture-based dairy farms. Assessments were then identified as suitable, suitable after modification or not feasible. Suitable and modified assessments were then included in the final protocol alongside additional measures specific to New Zealand dairy farms. The final protocol included 24 on-farm assessments and eight record-based assessments. Further testing of these 32 assessments is needed on more dairy farms across New Zealand before the protocol can be used to routinely assess the welfare of dairy cows in New Zealand.

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Assessing Extensive Semi-Arid Rangeland Beef Cow-Calf Welfare in Namibia. Part 2: Categorisation and Scoring of Welfare Assessment Measures

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11020250 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 250

Author(s):

Yolande Baby Kaurivi ◽

Richard Laven ◽

Rebecca Hickson ◽

Tim Parkinson ◽

Kevin Stafford

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Cattle Breed ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Beef Cow ◽

Commercial Farms ◽

Cow Calf ◽

Continuous Measures ◽

Farm Types

This paper aims to develop standards for a welfare assessment protocol by validating potential categorisation thresholds for assessing beef farms in various beef cow-calf production systems in Namibia. Forty measures, combined from a New Zealand-based protocol plus Namibia-specific measures, are applied to 55 beef farms (17 commercial farms, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal village farms) during pregnancy testing, and a questionnaire guided interview. The categorised measures on a 3-point welfare score (0: good, 1: marginal, and 2: poor/unacceptable welfare) are subsequently compared with the derivation of thresholds based upon the poorest 15% and best 50% of herds for each measure. The overall combined thresholds of continuous measures across the three farm types show 10/22 measures that posed welfare compromise across Namibia, whereas commercial farms have 4/22 measures, and semi-commercial and communal village farms have 12/22 and 11/22, respectively, with high thresholds. Most measures-imposed thresholds are retained because of significant importance to the welfare of animals and preventiveness of the traits, while leniency was given to adjust good feeding and mortality measures to signify periods of drought. Handling measures (fearful, falling/lying) and abrasions thresholds are adjusted to reflect the temporary stress caused by infrequent cattle handling, and faulty yard designs/design and possible cattle breed influence on handling. Hence, Namibia needs prioritised investigation of underlying contributing factors and remediation to reduce the high thresholds.

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Development and testing of an on-farm welfare assessment protocol for dairy goats

Animal Welfare ◽

10.7120/09627286.22.3.385 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 22 (3) ◽

pp. 385-400 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

K Muri ◽

SM Stubsjøen ◽

PS Valle

Keyword(s):

Dairy Goats ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

On Farm

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Assessing Extensive Semi-Arid Rangeland Beef Cow-Calf Welfare in Namibia. Part 2: Categorisation and scoring of welfare assessment measures

10.20944/preprints202012.0109.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Y. Baby Kaurivi ◽

Richard Laven ◽

Rebecca Hickson ◽

Tim Parkinson ◽

Kevin Stafford

Keyword(s):

Production Systems ◽

Cattle Breed ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Beef Cow ◽

Commercial Farms ◽

Cow Calf ◽

Continuous Measures ◽

Farm Types

The study aimed to develop standards for a welfare assessment protocol, by validating potential categorisation thresholds for assessment of beef farms in various beef cow-calf production systems in Namibia. Forty measures combined from a New Zealand-based protocol plus Namibia-specific measures, were applied on 55 beef farms (17 commercial farms, 20 semi-commercial and 18 communal village farms) during pregnancy testing, and a questionnaire guided interview. The categorised measures on a 3-point welfare score of 0: good 1: marginal and 2: poor/unacceptable welfare were subsequently compared with derivation of thresholds based upon the poorest 15% and best 50% of herds for each measure. Overall combined thresholds of continuous measures across the 3 farm types, showed 10/22 measures that posed welfare compromise across Namibia, where commercial farms had 4/22 measures and semi-commercial and communal village farms had 12/22 and 11/22 respectively with high thresholds. Most measures-imposed thresholds were retained because of significant importance to welfare of animals and preventiveness of the traits, while leniency was given to adjust good feeding and mortality measures to signify periods of drought. Handling measures (fearful, falling/lying) and abrasions thresholds were adjusted to reflect the temporary stress caused by infrequent cattle handling, and faulty yard designs/design and possible cattle breed influence on handling. Hence, the country needs prioritised investigation of underlying contributing factors and remediation to reduce the high thresholds.

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The development of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for donkeys

Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Research and Animal Science ◽

10.11606/issn.1678-4456.bjvras.2021.173333 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 ◽

pp. e173333

Author(s):

Emanuela Dalla Costa ◽

Francesca Dai ◽

Leigh Margaret Anne Murray ◽

Simona Cannas ◽

Elisabetta Canali ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reference Population ◽

Welfare Assessment ◽

Stakeholder Consultation ◽

Assessment Protocol ◽

Welfare Indicators ◽

Global Concern ◽

Public Scrutiny ◽

Multiple Challenges ◽

On Farm ◽

Selection Of

The donkey population has increased in the last 10 years, with an estimated 50 million donkeys currently worldwide. Donkey welfare, meanwhile, is an increasing global concern that receives close public scrutiny. However, multiple challenges are surrounding how donkey welfare is assessed and recorded. The Animal Welfare Indicators (AWIN) project is the first project, funded by the European Commission, intended to improve donkey welfare by developing a scientifically sound and practical on-farm welfare assessment protocol. The present study describes the procedure for the development of the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for donkeys: 1) selection of promising welfare indicators; 2) research to cover gaps in knowledge; 3) stakeholder consultation; 4) testing the prototype protocol on-farm. The proposed two-level strategy improved on-farm feasibility, while the AWIN donkey app enables the standardized collection of data with prompt results. Although limitations are linked with a relatively small reference population, the AWIN welfare assessment protocol represents the first scientific and standardized approach to evaluate donkey welfare on-farm.

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