Citizens’ View on Veal Calves’ Fattening System in Italy and Animal Welfare

Aims of this study were to assess citizens’ view on the current veal calves’ fattening system in Italy and on animal welfare, and to find relationships with veal meat consumption. Socio-demographic characteristics, veal meat consumption habits, knowledge of veal calves rearing system and animal welfare attitudes of 100 citizens were investigated through a questionnaire submitted on a voluntary base in supermarkets/butcher shops. Results showed that 61 respondents were veal meat consumers and the remaining 39 were non-consumers. A large proportion of respondents were aware of the modern veal calves rearing system but their knowledge as such did not affect veal meat consumption. Non-consumers declared they didn’t like veal meat organoleptic characteristics, opposed the production system or considered it too expensive. Most citizens sustained animal welfare but no correlations were found between concerns for animal welfare and veal meat consumption/purchase (rs 0.05). Citizens conceptualized animal welfare through the aspects of care animals received by the farmer and veterinarian and of healthy feed for animals. It could be concluded that consumers don’t really think of animal welfare while buying or having meat, and they still have idealised notions of naturality, traditional farming, free-range and small scale production linked to farm animal production

Citizens’ View on Veal Calves’ Fattening System in Italy and Animal Welfare

Aims of this study were to assess citizens’ view on the current veal calves’ fattening system in Italy and on animal welfare, and to find relationships with veal meat consumption. Socio-demographic characteristics, veal meat consumption habits, knowledge of veal calves rearing system and animal welfare attitudes of 100 citizens were investigated through a questionnaire submitted on a voluntary base in supermarkets/butcher shops. Results showed that 61 respondents were veal meat consumers and the remaining 39 were non-consumers. A large proportion of respondents were aware of the modern veal calves rearing system but their knowledge as such did not affect veal meat consumption. Non-consumers declared they didn’t like veal meat organoleptic characteristics, opposed the production system or considered it too expensive. Most citizens sustained animal welfare but no correlations were found between concerns for animal welfare and veal meat consumption/purchase (rs 0.05). Citizens conceptualized animal welfare through the aspects of care animals received by the farmer and veterinarian and of healthy feed for animals. It could be concluded that consumers don’t really think of animal welfare while buying or having meat, and they still have idealised notions of naturality, traditional farming, free-range and small scale production linked to farm animal production

Main critical factors affecting the welfare of beef cattle and veal calves raised under intensive rearing systems in Italy: a review

This review describes the principal causes of poor welfare in beef cattle and veal calves raised in intensive husbandry systems in Italy. Nowadays there are no specific regulations in force for beef cattle welfare. However, a document produced in 2001 by the Scientific Committee on Animal Health and Animal Welfare of the European Commission on Health and Consumer Protection identified the main causes of inadequate welfare levels in the different cattle rearing systems in Europe. In Italy and in the Po Valley in particular, the beef cattle farms are mainly finishing units characterised by animals kept at high density in multiple pens and fed high starch diets. Under these rearing conditions the limited space allowance is one of the most important issues impairing animal welfare. Other risk factors for poor welfare related to the housing structures are type of floor, space at the manger, number of water dispensers and lack of specific moving and handling facilities. Microclimatic conditions can be critical especially during the summer season when cattle can experience heat stress. The feeding plan adopted in the Italian beef farms may be another factor negatively affecting the welfare of these animals due to the low content of long fibre roughage which increases the risk of metabolic acidosis. In the veal calf rearing systems there has been a mandatory introduction of the new system of production according to the European Council Directives 91/629/EEC and 97/2/EC. Farms had to adopt group housing and to provide calves with an increasing amount of fibrous feed in addition to the all-liquid diet. Despite this specific legislation, several risk factors for calves' welfare can still be identified. Some of them are related to the housing system (type of floor, air quality, feed and water supply equipment and lack of loading facilities) and some others to the feeding plan (type and amount of roughage, quality of milk replacers). Recent studies have shown that the welfare of veal calves and beef cattle can be severely affected by the quality of the stockmanship and particularly by negative human-animal interaction

Pain in Pig Production: Text Mining Analysis of the Scientific Literature

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Potential Benefits to Dairy Cow Welfare of Using a Ceftiofur–Ketoprofen Combination Drug for the Treatment of Inflammatory Disease Associated with Pyrexia: A Field Clinical Trial on Acute Puerperal Metritis

This study aimed at investigating the benefits of using a drug combining ceftiofur and ketoprofen in a single injection on dairy cow welfare in the case of inflammatory disease with pyrexia, such as acute puerperal metritis (APM). Cows of an Italian dairy farm were examined between 5 and 14 days of calving: those with APM were randomly treated either with combined ceftiofur–ketoprofen (CD) or ceftiofur alone (C), starting from Day 0, and an equal number of healthy cows served as a control (CTR). Clinical examination and blood sampling were performed until Day 7 in each group according to specific schedules. Daily cow activity was recorded until Day 14 and daily milk production until Day 30. Additional data on fertility were collected until 120 days in milk (DIM). Data of 20 cows per group were analyzed. Body temperature and haptoglobin concentration dropped between Day 0 and 4 in both CD and C, approaching the level of CTR. The cure rate at Day 7 (body temperature < 39.0 °C) was 65 (CD) and 55% (C), without statistical difference. Neither cow activity nor milk production differed among the three groups. Reproductive performances in both CD and C were similar to CTR, but CD cows were 2.8 times more likely to be pregnant within 120 DIM than C, becoming pregnant about 14 days sooner. Both treatments (CD and C) have been effective in bringing the cows back to health conditions (CTR), and further studies would be needed to confirm the positive effect observed for CD on days open of the affected cows

Administration of high amounts of two solid feeds to veal calves: effects on growth performance and slaughter traits

The study aimed at assessing the effects on growth performance and slaughter traits of two type of solid feeds (Maize grain vs. Mix) administrated to veal calves in amounts exceeding the minimum recommended by the welfare legislation. Fifty Polish Friesian calves, housed in 5 group pens per each experimental treatment, were fed the same milk replacer diett twice a day. After milk distribution a growing amount of solid feed was distributed through the fattening period. The type of solid feed did not affect calves final body weight and average daily gain although intake of solid feed was higher innnnnnnnnnnnncalves fed the Mix diet. Carcass weight and dressing percentage were no significantly affected by the two diets. Despite the higher haemoglobin level resulted with the Mix diet, no relevant differences between the two feeding treatments were observed regarding carcass colour parameters that were suitable for the meat market

Milking characteristics, hygiene and management practices in Saanen goat farms: a case of Canakkale province, Turkey

In order to determine the current status of milking characteristics, hygiene and health protection practices in Saanen goat farms in Turkey, data were obtained from 92 farms through surveys in Çanakkale province. The farms are grouped according to the number of animals as small-scale (25–75 heads), medium-scale (76–150 heads) and large-scale (151 and overheads). As a result of the data observed, it has been seen that the majority of the farms (63.04%) had primary education and only 8.69% had education at the university level. While 44 farms have a milking machine or milking system in their farms, the other 48 farms use the hand milking. The 72.8% of the farms stated that they did not receive any training on milking hygiene and milking machines. Breast diseases are among the most common health problems in the farms (61.9%), followed by, digestive system diseases (8.6%), bacterial diseases (5.4%), foot diseases (2.1%) and viral diseases (4.3%), respectively. The prevalence of mastitis which is the leading cause of breast disease differs statistically in terms of scale (p < .05). In this period, the scale of the farms increased and the use of machine milking became widespread in dairy goat farms. Considering that Saanen breed goats, which have high milk yield, are also sensitive to diseases and are delicate breeds, it is important for the farmers to be educated and informed about breeding, herd management, and milking hygiene practices in order to increase milk production and quality and to prevent economic losses.Highlights The current status of milking hygiene and practices was evaluated. Mastitis was the most common disease (39.1%) observed in Saanen goat farms. To prevent economic losses due to diseases, farmers should be trained on hygiene and management practices