Animal welfare in a global perspective

Global survey of animal-welfare regulations, practices and perceptions, with case studies on poultry meat from Brazil and Thailand, eggs from India and the USA, welfare regulations of farmed fish and welfare aspects related to (perceived) overpopulation of wildlif

Verbeteren welzijnsprestaties in de biologische veehouderij: korte termijn prioriteiten en aanzet tot lange termijn visie = Improving welfare performance in organic farming: short term priorities and longe term vision

This report describes five projects to improve animal welfare in organic farming: breeding polled (hornless) cattle, providing roughage to poultry, reducing mortality of piglets and lambs, and providing facilities for climbing and grooming in goats. In addition the development of a longer term vision on the future of organic farming is initiated, and its short-term implications are identified

Het ideale modderbad voor varkens

Zoelen, oftewel modderbaden, is belangrijk is voor het welzijn van varkens. Dit geldt zeker wanneer het erg warm is. Die conclusie trekt Wageningen UR Livestock Research in een overzichtsrapport over het zoelgedrag van varkens. Uit alle literatuur zijn ook de criteria voor een ideale modderpoel gefilterd

Procjena djelovanja kretanja na dobrobit životinja

Locomotion is an important element of the animal\u27s activity. It may take various states as regards gait and speed. Moreover, it supports all main behavioural functions in that locomotion enables the animal to act properly, in space and time, serving its different needs. For this reason impaired locomotion is an important threat to survival in free living animals, and probably perceived as such in all animals, including the domesticated species. The impact on welfare in farm animals should be considered in relation to this multifunctional nature of locomotion. But then the question arises as to how to assess the impact of impaired locomotion in proportion to other conditions affecting the animal? We propose to follow the decision support model for integrated welfare assessment developed by Bracke et al. 2002a. Fundamentally, welfare is assessed from the state of the biological needs of the animal. This welfare definition provides transparency and allows scientific verification. A list of biological needs has been worked out for sows, but analogous lists are easily made for other species. The model allows systematic weighting of the consequences of impaired locomotion in the various biological functions such as foraging behaviour, body care and safety. The model allows not only an assessment of impairment due to lameness, but also of the consequences of environmental restraints as inconvenient floors.Kretanje je važan element aktivnosti životinje. Može biti različitog oblika s obzirom na hod i brzinu. Osim toga, ono nosi sve glavne funkcije ponašanja, budući da kretanje omogućuje živo¬tinji pravilno ponašanje, u prostoru i vremenu, služeći različitim potrebama. Zbog toga je oslabljeno kretanje velika prijetnja opstanku slobodnih živih životinja, a vjerojatno to vrijedi za sve životinje, uključujući i domaće. Djelovanje na dobrobit domaćih životinja treba promatrati u vezi s multifunkcionalnom prirodom kretanja. No onda se postavlja pitanje kako procijeniti djelovanje oslabljenog kretanja u odnosu na druge okolnosti koje djeluju na životinje? Predlažemo slijediti podršku odluci o modelu za cjelovitu pro¬cjenu, što su razvili Bracke i sur. (2002a). U biti, dobrobit se pro¬cjenjuje prema stanju bioloških potreba životinje. Ovakva definicija dobrobiti pruža transparentnost i omogućuje znanstvenu provjeru. Razrađen je popis bioloških potreba za krmače, a analogni popisi mogu se lako načiniti za druge vrste. Model omogućuje sistematsko mjerenje posljedica oslabljenog kretanja u različitim biološkim funkcijama kao što su ponašanje pri traženju hrane, njega tijela i sigurnost. Model omogućuje ne samo procjenu oslabljenja zbog sakatosti nego i posljedice okolišnih ograničenja kao što su nepri¬kladni podovi

Zoelen, douchen, wroeten of niet castreren

Varkens nemen graag een modderbad om hun lichaam te koelen, maar in de gangbare varkenshouderij is zoiets moeilijk inpasbaar. In welke mate zoelen belangrijk is voor varkens werd uitgezocht door Wageningen UR Livestock Research. Volgens Deense adviseurs is het belangrijk om varkens een koelmogelijkheid te bieden om hiermee hokbevuiling tegen te gaan. De Denen adviseren hun varkenshouders daarom een sprinklerinstallatie te installeren in de stal. In Nederland wordt dit nog nauwelijks toegepast

Boer staat aan het roer bij tegengaan bijterij

Ondanks routinematig staartcouperen is bijterij een veelvoorkomende vorm van ongewenst gedrag die tot problemen leidt in de varkenshouderij. De economische en maatschappelijke gevolgen van bijterij zullen de komende tijd waarschijnlijk alleen maar toenemen. Varkenshouders en bedrijfsadviseurs kunnen daar nu al op inspelen in een sectorbrede aanpak die gericht is op het terugdringen van bijterij en het geleidelijk aan ‘toegroeien’ naar intacte oorpunten en krulstaarten. Daarbij staat de boer aan het roer

Helft varkensbedrijven kampt met staartbijten

Ongeveer de helft van alle gangbare en biologische varkenshouders hebben op hun bedrijf te maken met staartbijten bij gespeende biggen of vleesvarkens. Op fokbedrijven ligt dit percentage zelfs nog iets hoger. Dit blijkt uit de resultaten van een telefonische enquête van het LEI en Wageningen UR Livestock Research, in opdracht van het ministerie van LNV. De enquête maakt onderdeel uit van het onderzoekstraject met als doel om verantwoord om te gaan met varkens die gecoupeerde dan wel lange(re) staarten hebbe

Overall animal welfare assessment reviewed. Part 1: Is it possible?

Several authors have concluded that scientists should not attempt to perform overall animal welfare assessment (OWA). They argue that scientists have continued to fail to make progress in this area and that value judgements are inherently involved in OWA for which science cannot provide answers. We take a more positive attitude toward OWA and argue that scientists should avoid creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. OWA is necessary for making actual moral and political decisions. Science has already accumulated much relevant information about welfare and this information should be applied in decision making. The task of OW A is to assess welfare based on knowledge of the biological needs of animals. Weighting of welfare relevant factors constitutes a problem. However, when scientists cannot provide empirical data to solve weighting issues, this does not mean that rational answers cannot be found, e.g. in the form of procedural rules. OWA is conceived as a problem of multi-criteria decision making with fuzzy information. It focuses on the descriptive aspect of welfare, i.e. on what the welfare status of the animals really is without taking an ethical stance. The welfare status of animals depends on their biology and on the way animals assess their own welfare. It does not depend on how it happens to be perceived by us. Even though OWA necessarily remains a human activity, it is not arbitrary, nor does it allow of multiple \u27correct\u27 answers. OWA is a descriptive activity that can achieve more and more accuracy as science proceeds

Overall animal welfare reviewed. Part 3: Welfare assessment based on needs and supported by expert opinion

Welfare concerns what matters to animals from their point of view. What matters to animals is their state of need. Satisfaction and frustration of needs are associated with emotional states, the subjective experience of which directly determines the welfare status of an animal. Because emotional states are difficult to assess, overall welfare assessment (OWA) is best approached as an assessment of needs. For actual OW A a list of needs must be formulated. Different authors have formulated different lists. From these lists a concept need-list was constructed. For validation the needs-based approach for OWA was discussed in interviews with experts (n = 21) in the field of ethology and other welfare related sciences. These experts generally used mental terminology to define welfare, but when asked to classify their definition of welfare, many preferred a definition in terms of measurable parameters or a combination of both mental terms (feelings) and measurables. Most experts believed that welfare can be assessed objectively and that the problem of OWA is indeed best approached through an assessment of needs. Experts differ as to the exact composition of the list of needs. A list of needs is formulated which we intend to use for OWA in the case of sows