scholarly journals Grooming Device Effects on Behaviour and Welfare of Japanese Black Fattening Cattle

Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shigeru Ninomiya
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Carcass Weight ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Time Budgets ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Exact Probability ◽  
Z Value ◽  
Mean Time

In livestock farming, a stark or barren environment compromises animal welfare. Environmental enrichment has been used to address the issue. For this study, after fattening cattle were provided with a grooming device (a brush), its effect on animal self-grooming and welfare were investigated. For Research trial 1 and 2, respectively, 28 and 11 Japanese Black steers were observed. Three or four of the animals were group-housed in a pen. For Trial 1, half of the animals were provided with a brush. The animals’ behaviour, carcass weight, and Viscera disease were recorded. Enrichment animals (E) performed self-grooming and scratching of the animals’ body on the brush and pen structures more than control animals (C) did (mean time budgets, 3.34% (SD = 2.48) in E and 0.89% (SD = 0.81) in C, GLMM, z value = 8.28, p < 0.001). The number of animals in which viscera disease was detected after slaughter was lower in E than in C (E = 0, C = 4, a Fisher’s exact probability test, p = 0.03). In Trial 2, brush use behaviour was observed continuously for 72 h. The observation revealed that the animals scratched various body parts on the brush. Results show that providing a brush as environmental enrichment improves welfare by satisfying the motivation of fattening cattle to perform self-grooming.

scholarly journals Precision Technologies to Address Dairy Cattle Welfare: Focus on Lameness, Mastitis and Body Condition

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 2253
Author(s):  
Severiano R. Silva ◽  
José P. Araujo ◽  
Cristina Guedes ◽  
Flávio Silva ◽  
Mariana Almeida ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Economic Sustainability ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Technological Support ◽  
Technological Tools ◽  
Cow Welfare ◽  
Time Assessment

Specific animal-based indicators that can be used to predict animal welfare have been the core of protocols for assessing the welfare of farm animals, such as those produced by the Welfare Quality project. At the same time, the contribution of technological tools for the accurate and real-time assessment of farm animal welfare is also evident. The solutions based on technological tools fit into the precision livestock farming (PLF) concept, which has improved productivity, economic sustainability, and animal welfare in dairy farms. PLF has been adopted recently; nevertheless, the need for technological support on farms is getting more and more attention and has translated into significant scientific contributions in various fields of the dairy industry, but with an emphasis on the health and welfare of the cows. This review aims to present the recent advances of PLF in dairy cow welfare, particularly in the assessment of lameness, mastitis, and body condition, which are among the most relevant animal-based indications for the welfare of cows. Finally, a discussion is presented on the possibility of integrating the information obtained by PLF into a welfare assessment framework.

Development of a commercial price schedule for producers and processors of lambs

1989 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 23 ◽  
Author(s):  
DL Hopkins
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Regression ◽  
Carcass Weight ◽  
Commercial Application ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Time And Motion ◽  
Motion Study ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Fat Score ◽  
The Times ◽  
Mean Time

Equations were developed to predict the weight of trimmed retail (bone-in) cuts, trim, fat and bone from 321 lamb carcasses, ranging in carcass weight from 4.8 to 26.8 kg and in fat depth at the GR site (12th rib) from 1 to 31 mm. For commercial application, the equations were developed using a multiple regression program with the predictors carcass weight and GR. All equations explained a large amount of the variation in component weights (r2 = 0.76-0.99). A time and motion study using 172 carcasses showed that the times required to butcher carcasses of low fat (score 1 and 2) were similar. Likewise the mean time taken to butcher score 3 carcasses was similar to that of score 1 carcasses. However, it took significantly longer (P<0.05) to butcher score 3 carcasses than score 2 carcasses, and score 4 and 5 carcasses than score 3 carcasses. In addition, the mean times taken to butcher score 4 and 5 carcasses were significantly different (P< 0.05). By using multiple regression analysis it was shown that carcass weight, fatscore, their interaction and the butcher all significantly affected the butchering time. The findings of this work are discussed as they apply to the commercial development of price schedules and show that, when based on yield, lean heavy carcasses are more profitable for processing.

scholarly journals Farm Animal Welfare Science in China—A Bibliometric Review of Chinese Literature

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Sinclair ◽  
Yu Zhang ◽  
Kris Descovich ◽  
Clive J.C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Chinese Philosophy ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
Farm Animal ◽  
Farm Animal Welfare ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
Bibliometric Review ◽  
Agricultural Industries

Farm animal welfare in the People’s Republic of China (henceforth, China) is not well represented in the international scientific literature. This may lead researchers, advocates and those with agricultural partnerships in China to assume that animal welfare is not a field of interest there. This study reports a literature review of published pig and poultry welfare research in China using Chinese scientific databases. We aimed to determine which areas of welfare research have recently received academic attention in China. From an understanding of areas being studied, current and emerging priority areas for research could be determined. This study identified 854 academic publications citing pig or chicken welfare in China published between 2008 and 2018. Within these publications, two broader areas of significant attention were addressed in the context of animal welfare; yield and product quality, such as feeding, biosecurity and antimicrobial resistance, including immunity and second, the relationship of animal welfare with the Chinese philosophy of ‘ecological agriculture.’ Holistic systems were advocated to maximize sustainability and maintain a healthy environment, such as the creation of fermented bedding for pigs. Environmental enrichment was also a focus of attention, demonstrating an interest in animals’ mental welfare, which was usually conjectured from their behavior. Few of the articles were translated into English or other languages and therefore most were largely unavailable to the English-speaking global scientific community. This presents an opportunity to provide relevant animal welfare knowledge, which could improve animal welfare globally. China is a global animal trade leader and the home of the largest agricultural industries in the world. An increase in collaboration on animal welfare research and understanding of the advancements that have been made in China, as reviewed in this manuscript, could advance farm animal welfare from a global perspective.

scholarly journals Organic Livestock Production: A Bibliometric Review

Animals ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 618
Author(s):  
Carmen L. Manuelian ◽  
Mauro Penasa ◽  
Luciana da Costa ◽  
Sara Burbi ◽  
Federico Righi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Livestock Production ◽  
Annual Growth Rate ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Bibliometric Review ◽  
Main Production ◽  
Organic Livestock Production

Due to the increasing interest in organic farming, an overview of this research area is provided through a bibliometric analysis conducted between April and May 2019. A total of 320 documents were published up until 2018 on organic livestock farming, with an annual growth rate of 9.33% and a clear increase since 2005; 268 documents have been published in 111 journals. Germany is the country with the largest number of published papers (56 documents). Authors’ top keywords (excluding keywords used for running the search) included: animal welfare (29 times), animal health (22 times), cattle (15 times), grazing (10 times), and sheep (10 times). This could indicate that more research has been done on cattle because of the importance of this species in Germany. Moreover, the prevalence of the terms ‘animal welfare’ and ‘animal health’ may indicate that the research on organic livestock production has been focused on these two areas. The bibliometric analysis indicates that: (i) countries focused the organic livestock production research on their main production, and (ii) more research in species other than cattle and sheep is needed.

scholarly journals Towards Facial Expression Recognition for On-Farm Welfare Assessment in Pigs

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 847
Author(s):  
Mark F. Hansen ◽  
Emma M. Baxter ◽  
Kenneth M. D. Rutherford ◽  
Agnieszka Futro ◽  
Melvyn L. Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Welfare States ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Expression Recognition ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Precision Livestock Farming ◽  
Innovative Work ◽  
Leave One Out ◽  
On Farm

Animal welfare is not only an ethically important consideration in good animal husbandry but can also have a significant effect on an animal’s productivity. The aim of this paper was to show that a reduction in animal welfare, in the form of increased stress, can be identified in pigs from frontal images of the animals. We trained a convolutional neural network (CNN) using a leave-one-out design and showed that it is able to discriminate between stressed and unstressed pigs with an accuracy of >90% in unseen animals. Grad-CAM was used to identify the animal regions used, and these supported those used in manual assessments such as the Pig Grimace Scale. This innovative work paves the way for further work examining both positive and negative welfare states with the aim of developing an automated system that can be used in precision livestock farming to improve animal welfare.

scholarly journals Welfare during pre-slaughter handling and carcass lesions of beef cattle submitted to different loading densities

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (12) ◽  
pp. 985-991
Author(s):  
Käthery Brennecke ◽  
Cynthia P. Zeferino ◽  
Vando Edésio Soares ◽  
Cássia M.B. Orlandi ◽  
Liandra M.A. Bertipaglia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Carcass Weight ◽  
Nellore Cattle ◽  
Intermediate Density

ABSTRACT: Inadequate pre-slaughter handling conditions can compromise animal welfare and productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the animal welfare (AW) indexes during pre-slaughter handling and quantify the carcass lesions of beef cattle submitted to different loading densities. A total of 270 Nellore cattle, at 30 months of age, from three farms were used in the study. Each farm presented a different loading density: higher density (500kg/m2), intermediate density (450kg/m2), and lower density (420kg/m2). Three shipments of cattle from each farm with 30 animals each were used in the AW analysis. Ten animals from each shipment were considered for quantification of carcass bruises. The AW indexes were classified according to the five-freedom criterion (physiological, environmental, sanitary, behavioral, and psychological). After slaughter, the carcasses were inspected in the routine line and evaluated for the presence of lesions. Statistically significant differences (p<0.001) were found for all variables studied as a function of AW and bruises. The best AW index and the lowest mean weight of lesions were found at the loading density of 450kg/m2. The highest carcass weight was observed at the loading density of 500kg/m2. Lesions were found in 100% of the animals at the loading densities of 500 and 420kg/m2. In conclusion, the best AW indexes and the smallest occurrence of bruises were verified at the loading density of 450kg/m2. This study confirmed the importance of adequate pre-slaughter handling to ensure cattle welfare and, consequently, greater profitability for producers and slaughterhouses.

scholarly journals A Systematic Review on Validated Precision Livestock Farming Technologies for Pig Production and Its Potential to Assess Animal Welfare

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yaneth Gómez ◽  
Anna H. Stygar ◽  
Iris J. M. M. Boumans ◽  
Eddie A. M. Bokkers ◽  
Lene J. Pedersen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Animal Welfare ◽  
Radio Frequency Identification ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Pig Production ◽  
Precision Livestock Farming ◽  
Welfare Indicators ◽  
System Building ◽  
Load Cells ◽  
Thermal Cameras

Several precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies, conceived for optimizing farming processes, are developed to detect the physical and behavioral changes of animals continuously and in real-time. The aim of this review was to explore the capacity of existing PLF technologies to contribute to the assessment of pig welfare. In a web search for commercially available PLF for pigs, 83 technologies were identified. A literature search was conducted, following systematic review guidelines (PRISMA), to identify studies on the validation of sensor technologies for assessing animal-based welfare indicators. Two validation levels were defined: internal (evaluation during system building within the same population that were used for system building) and external (evaluation on a different population than during system building). From 2,463 articles found, 111 were selected, which validated some PLF that could be applied to the assessment of animal-based welfare indicators of pigs (7% classified as external, and 93% as internal validation). From our list of commercially available PLF technologies, only 5% had been externally validated. The more often validated technologies were vision-based solutions (n = 45), followed by load-cells (n = 28; feeders and drinkers, force plates and scales), accelerometers (n = 14) and microphones (n = 14), thermal cameras (n = 10), photoelectric sensors (n = 5), radio-frequency identification (RFID) for tracking (n = 2), infrared thermometers (n = 1), and pyrometer (n = 1). Externally validated technologies were photoelectric sensors (n = 2), thermal cameras (n = 2), microphone (n = 1), load-cells (n = 1), RFID (n = 1), and pyrometer (n = 1). Measured traits included activity and posture-related behavior, feeding and drinking, other behavior, physical condition, and health. In conclusion, existing PLF technologies are potential tools for on-farm animal welfare assessment in pig production. However, validation studies are lacking for an important percentage of market available tools, and in particular research and development need to focus on identifying the feature candidates of the measures (e.g., deviations from diurnal pattern, threshold levels) that are valid signals of either negative or positive animal welfare. An important gap identified are the lack of technologies to assess affective states (both positive and negative states).

scholarly journals Short-Term Impact of Point-Source Enrichment on the Behavior of Gestating Sows Housed in Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perle E. Zhitnitskiy ◽  
Claire M. H. A. Terreaux ◽  
Hannah N. Phillips ◽  
Beth A. Ventura
Keyword(s):  
Point Source ◽  
Environmental Enrichment ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Crossover Design ◽  
Farm Animals ◽  
Time Budgets ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Design Time ◽  
The Impact ◽  
To Receive

Environmental enrichment is an important strategy to improve the welfare of farm animals. However, relatively little is known about enrichment for gestating sows, especially those raised on farms with slatted floors and for which provision of straw may be difficult. The objective of this study was therefore to investigate the short-term (4 d) impact of a point-source enrichment object on the behavior of gestating sows housed in group pens. Four pens of gestating sows on a university research farm were randomly allocated to receive either enrichment or no enrichment (control) in a 2 by 2 crossover design. Time budgets were established by video recording focal sows' behaviors (n = 10 focals per pen) every 15 min between 0800 and 1500 every day. Enrichment use was further characterized by continuous behavior sampling for a 1 h interval between 0830 and 0930 each day. The impact of parity, lameness and presence of stereotypical behavior such as sham chewing on enrichment use was evaluated. Over the course of the study, focal sows spent approximately 73% of observations inactive [either lying down (70%), standing (2%), or sitting (1%)]. Within the remaining observations, sows were most commonly observed sham-chewing (16%), followed by 3% exploring, 2% feeding, 2% walking and 1% interacting with the enrichment when it was available. Low-parity sows, moderately-lame sows, and sows observed sham chewing at baseline displayed more consistent enrichment use over the course of the study (p = 0.02, p &lt; 0.01, p = 0.04, respectively). While no adverse behavioral effects (increased agonism or sham chewing) due to provision or removal of the enrichment object were observed and while 85% of sows were observed to interact with enrichment at least once, interest declined sharply after the first day. We conclude that further research is needed to identify effective and sustainable enrichment strategies for gestating sows.

scholarly journals Does Smart Farming Improve or Damage Animal Welfare? Technology and What Animals Want

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marian Stamp Dawkins
Keyword(s):  
Animal Welfare ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Computer Algorithms ◽  
Livestock Farming ◽  
Common View ◽  
The Public ◽  
Smart Farming

“Smart” or “precision” farming has revolutionized crop agriculture but its application to livestock farming has raised ethical concerns because of its possible adverse effects on animal welfare. With rising public concern for animal welfare across the world, some people see the efficiency gains offered by the new technology as a direct threat to the animals themselves, allowing producers to get “more for less” in the interests of profit. Others see major welfare advantages through life-long health monitoring, delivery of individual care and optimization of environmental conditions. The answer to the question of whether smart farming improves or damages animal welfare is likely to depend on three main factors. Firstly, much will depend on how welfare is defined and the extent to which politicians, scientists, farmers and members of the public can agree on what welfare means and so come to a common view on how to judge how it is impacted by technology. Defining welfare as a combination of good health and what the animals themselves want provides a unifying and animal-centered way forward. It can also be directly adapted for computer recognition of welfare. A second critical factor will be whether high welfare standards are made a priority within smart farming systems. To achieve this, it will be necessary both to develop computer algorithms that can recognize welfare to the satisfaction of both the public and farmers and also to build good welfare into the control and decision-making of smart systems. What will matter most in the end, however, is a third factor, which is whether smart farming can actually deliver its promised improvements in animal welfare when applied in the real world. An ethical evaluation will only be possible when the new technologies are more widely deployed on commercial farms and their full social, environmental, financial and welfare implications become apparent.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document