Prevalence of Potential Indicators of Welfare Status in Young Calves at Meat Processing Premises in New Zealand

In New Zealand, over two million dairy calves between four and seven days of age are sent to meat processing premises every year. There is a need to develop protocols for holistically assessing the welfare of calves sent to slaughter in the first week of life. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of potential animal-based indicators of the welfare state in bobby calves in lairage. The study observed calves in lairage between June and October 2016. Data collection involved assessing groups of calves in pens followed by non-invasive measurements on up to five calves within each pen. We made 23 visits to 12 meat processing premises with group-level observations made on 5910 calves in 102 pens, followed by a non-invasive examination of 504 calves. During the group level observations, none of the calves had their heads tilted or were panting, and coughing and play behaviour were observed in only 1% of pens. In contrast, at least one calf had faecal soiling in all the observed pens, with the percentage of calves affected in each pen ranging from 1% to 48%. In the individual observations, more than 60% of calves had signs of some degree of dehydration, and nearly 40% had some faecal soiling present. In addition, 24% of calves had a respiratory rate over 36 breaths per minute, considered higher than normal. The change in prevalence of some indicators—as time spent in lairage increased or as the calving season progressed—is worth further exploration. Identification of prevalent animal-based indicators facilitates better understanding of the welfare status of young calves in lairage, and these should be incorporated into more holistic calf welfare assessment schemes.

Acceptance and Feasibility of a Guideline for the Animal Welfare Assessment of Fattening Pigs from Farmers’ Point of View

The welfare of farm animals is being increasingly discussed in society and politics. To evaluate animal welfare, indicator systems are often used. Such a system has been developed by the German Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture and suggested in the publication “Animal Welfare Indicators: Practical Guide—Pigs”. The association’s aim is to provide farmers with a useful method for recording the welfare of pigs. Crucial for the acceptance of the guide by farmers is a high degree of feasibility of the recommended indicators as well as the proposed methods for their recording. To evaluate this, 40 farmers keeping fattening pigs were interviewed. The guided semi-structured interview was conducted on the farms after the farmers evaluated the welfare of their fattening pigs according to the guide. The results are: Apart from the indicators faecal soiling and tail length, all the other eleven indicators are accepted for the assessment of fattening pig welfare by a majority of the interviewed farmers (between 57.5% and 90% acceptance per indicator). Furthermore, the feasibility of the individual indicators was assessed as being positive. The relationship between time expenditure and benefit was rated on a five-point scale at an average of 3.1 (medium), which clearly shows that there is a need for further development of this guide. Some possible changes with a potential for improvement could be identified; for example, the aggregation of the results after the collection of the individual indicators to an overall result that can be compared and interpreted.

Transanal irrigation with Peristeen in neurogenic bowel dysfunction: audit of impact on symptoms and quality of life

Background: Spinal cord injury often results in neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD). NBD is associated with constipation and faecal incontinence, as well as loss of sensation, faecal loading and faecal leakage, and it has a severe impact on healthcare resources and patient quality of life. NBD is treated conservatively with medication, suppositories, physiotherapy, digital rectal stimulation and digital removal of faeces. Conservative options are not always effective and long-term may lead to haemorrhoids, rectal bleeding, mucosal prolapse and faecal soiling. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends the use of the Peristeen transanal irrigation system, which instills lukewarm water into the colon via a balloon catheter to stimulate regular and complete bowel movements. Aim: To assess the impact of transanal irrigation with Peristeen on the symptoms and treatments of NBD, as well as patient quality of life and satisfaction, in a regional spinal injury centre. Method: Patients were asked to complete an adapted NBD assessment at consultation when they were prescribed Peristeen and at 8-week follow up. Answers to 10 questions on symptoms and treatment were individually weighted to provide a bowel dysfunction score, excluding two Likert-type questions on quality of life. Results: Patient numbers undergoing digital evacuations once or more a week decreased by more than 50%, and medication use decreased slightly. Patients reported a decrease in the following symptoms: peri-anal skin problems (9%); uneasiness, sweating or headaches (20%); uncontrollable flatus (27%); rectal bleeding (30%); faecal soiling (37%) and involuntary defecation (46%). Mean total bowel dysfunction score decreased by 11.6 from 20.4 to 8.8, and those with dysfunction categorised as severe decreased by 64% from 80% to 16%. Average negative emotional wellbeing improved from 4.0 to 1.2, and mean satisfaction increased from 3.2 to 7.3. Conclusion: According to the study findings, Peristeen is observed to improve quality of life in spinal NBD, and it is effective at reducing both associated symptoms and the need for digital rectal stimulation and digital removal of faeces.

To dock or not to dock? Faecal soiling measurement in sheep

Faecal soiling is one of the welfare indicators in the AWIN welfare assessment protocol for sheep (Ovis aries) and is measured by dag scores. Studies on dag scoring for ewes with docked and undocked tails have given rise to contradictory results. The aim of this study was to compare faecal soiling between ewes with docked and undocked tails and evaluate inter-rater reliability for faecal soiling of ewes. This study was conducted on a farm in Southern Brazil and included 66 undocked and 94 docked ewes. Dag score was recorded by three assessors on a scale of 1 to 5. There was no significant difference on faecal soiling for docked compared to undocked ewes and the median dag score was 3 (1–5). Repeatability amongst assessors by intra-class correlation coefficient of dag scores on docked and undocked ewes was 0.49 and 0.40, respectively; however, these repeatabilities showed no significant differences. The modest repeatability between three assessors on dag scoring indicates caution as regards the use of faecal soiling as an indicator and suggests a need for further studies. The best field results may be obtained by increasing the assessment sample to at least 160 ewes or by raising the number of assessors to five to promote better inter-observer repeatability. Results suggest that taildocking did not promote cleanliness on the breech area. Considering the negative impact on welfare, it seems reasonable to reverse the burden of proof and desist from recommending tail-docking in the absence of clear scientific evidence of any benefit.

Pattern and outcomes of colonic injuries among a sample of Iraqi patients

Background: Colonic injury is one of the frequent injuries affecting different age groups especially young population. It is potentially lethal in its course and commonly associated with significant injuries to other organs. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of presentation, management modalities and mortality of colonic injuries among a sample of Iraqi patients.Methods: This is prospective study on 75 patients who were admitted to the general surgical ward of Al-Khadimya teaching hospital, Baghdad-Iraq, with colonic injury and had surgical treatment during a period of two years. The clinical parameters included: site of colonic injuries, mode of colonic injury management shock presenting in the emergency room degree of contamination (mild, moderate, and severe), and associated intra-&extra- abdominal injuries.Results: Majority of patients were male. Mean age of sample was 28.47 years. The commonest site of injury was transverse, sigmoid, and descending colon. Primary repair was the first modality followed by repair and proximal colostomy. The overall mortality was 26/75 (35%). Eighteen deaths (71%) occurred in the first 24 hours most of them due to associated major injuries and irreversible shock. Eight deaths (29%) occurred after 24 hours all of them due to septic complications.Conclusions: Primary repair is the main approach in colonic repair. In the absence of shock, associated injuries, or gross faecal soiling, primary repair may be considered. Mortality is considered high and need to be investigated in future research.