Assessment of animal-based pig welfare outcomes on farm and at the abattoir:a case study

The study assessed the prevalence of animal-based pig welfare outcomes on one Chilean farm and one abattoir. A total of 198 pens of slaughter pigs (9,049 pigs) were observed on farm and 54 batches (8,843 pigs) were observed at the abattoir. All assessments were conducted from outside the pen on farm and from outside the corridor where pigs were unloaded from the truck at the abattoir. Batch size and number of pigs with ear, tail and skin lesions, hernias, rectal prolapse, bursitis, and lameness were recorded. Data were analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. There was a large variation among pens on farm and among batches at the abattoir for all outcomes. Bursitis was the most prevalent outcome recorded in both locations, followed by ear lesions recorded on farm and by tail lesions recorded at the abattoir. Ear lesions' prevalence was higher on farm (P < 0.001), while tail lesions, hernia, and bursitis prevalence were higher at the abattoir (P < 0.001). Ear lesions' prevalence on farm was higher in female and mixed-sex groups than in male groups (P < 0.01), but male groups tended to have a higher tail lesions' prevalence (P < 0.1). The results show a difference in welfare outcomes, suggesting that assessment of outcomes on farm could complement ante-mortem inspections at the abattoir. However, as the same animals were not inspected in the two locations and there is the possibility of a seasonal influence on the results, the findings should be interpreted with caution and further research is required

A hierarquia social e o regime de oferta influenciam o consumo de água em bovinos leiteiros.

Pequenas propriedades leiteiras no sul do Brasil freqüentemente oferecem água para as vacas em um único bebedouro na sala de ordenha, o que pode limitar o consumo de água, com conseqüências negativas na produção e bem-estar animal. Para testar a influencia da restrição de água e dominância social na ingestão de água e no comportamento, 14 animais (novilhas, vacas em lactação e secas) foram submetidos a dois tratamentos num delineamento do tipo cross-over: acesso à água permanente (APer) ou restrito a uma vez ao dia (ARest) durante 17 dias em cada fase. A ingestão de água foi medida diariamente através de um relógio medidor de vazão acoplado à saída de água e o comportamento foi observado entre os dias 13 e 17 de cada fase, por observação visual direta, das 7:00 às 22:00 h. A dominância social e os tratamentos não influenciaram os comportamentos de comer ração/silagem, pastar, ruminar, de pé, deitada, inativa ou número de agressões, nem a distribuição espacial na sala de ordenha. Entretanto, vacas ARest beberam aproximadamente 70% do volume de água consumido pelas vacas APer (p<0,001). Em seis de oito oportunidades, vacas secas subordinadas não beberam água por até 48 horas. A limitação da disponibilidade de água uma vez ao dia na sala de ordenha pode reduzir a ingestão e prejudicar o consumo de alguns animais dentro do grupo

Meat Consumers’ Opinion Regarding Unhealthy Pigs: Should They Be Treated with Antibiotics or Euthanized on Farm?

The aim of this study was to investigate the opinions of meat consumers (n = 1780) on on-farm management of unhealthy pigs, whether support for treatment with antibiotics varies according with chance of recovery, and the effect of knowledge on the use of antibiotics on these opinions. Most participants believed that the use of antibiotics was the best solution for unhealthy pigs, and this was associated with a low level of knowledge about antibiotics. Increasing the probability of recovery after treatment increased support for treating pigs with antibiotics. However, the majority of participants rejected the consumption of meat from animals housed in “hospital pens”. After price, concern with food safety was the second main factor that influenced participants’ choice when buying meat. Support for the use of antibiotics to deal with unhealthy pigs in “hospital pens”, as well as for consumption of the meat from these animals, was higher among participants involved in agriculture. This shows that consumers are unaware of the potential negative repercussions for animal welfare associated with banning or reducing the use of antibiotics in livestock production, which is an important concern for the industry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Interplay between productive traits, the social rank, and the cow’s stability in the order of entrance to the milking parlour

The aim of this study was to investigate whether social rank (SR) and stability in the order of entrance to the milking parlour are associated with production traits. The study was conducted on a dairy farm where cows (n = 215) were managed in three groups according to lactation stage (group 1: 78 cows, 0–100 days in milk (DIM); group 2: 65 cows, 101–200 DIM and group 3: 72 cows, >200 DIM). SR was calculated from observations made from agonistic behaviour performed at the water troughs and feed bunks of each pen (n = 3). The animals were classified into three levels of dominance based on at least five clear interactions, resulting in: 61 dominant, 75 intermediate and 69 subordinate cows based on SR. Stability in the order of entry was estimated as the standard deviation of the entry position. SR was weakly correlated with milk yield, urea and protein content in milk. The results showed that stable cows had higher milk production and entered the milking parlour after the non-stable animals. Stability in the order of entry to the milking parlour was not affected by SR. Overall, the use of milking facilities appears to be associated with production traits rather than SR

Incorporating a fresh mixed annual ryegrass and berseem clover forage into the winter diet of dairy cows resulted in reduced milk yield, but reduced nitrogen excretion and reduced methane yield

The winter diet of dairy cows in Mediterranean climate regions is usually a total mixed ration with a base of conserved summer crops such as corn silage and alfalfa hay. However, there is increased labor and financial cost related to this kind of feeding, which could be reduced if fresh forages were used in place of some of the conserved forage in the cow diet. The objective of our study was to evaluate the effect of including fresh mixed annual ryegrass and berseem clover into the diet of dairy cows on milk, nitrogen utilization, and methane emission. Twenty-four lactating dairy cows were split into two groups and offered either a diet similar to that usually offered to the cows (CON) or one where a mixture of fresh annual ryegrass and berseem clover was used to partially substitute the corn silage and alfalfa hay in the diet (MIX). Milk yield was recorded automatically, and methane emissions were estimated using the SF6 tracer technique. The MIX diet had lower crude protein concentration (148 vs. 170 g/kg DM) but higher DM digestibility (81.6 vs. 78.6%) than the CON diet. Compared to the cows offered the CON diet, milk yield was reduced when cows were fed the MIX diet (36.4 vs. 31.9 kg/d), but methane emissions (381 vs. 332 g/d) and nitrogen excretion were also reduced (238 vs. 180 g/d). Nitrogen use efficiency was unaffected (30.8%). In addition, milk from cows fed the MIX diet had a fatty acid profile considered to be more beneficial to human health than that of the milk from cows fed the CON diet. Increasing the protein concentration in the MIX diet, either by direct supplementation or increasing the proportion of legume in the mixed herbage, could overcome the reduction on milk and positively affect methane emission and N use efficiency

The effect of mixing entire male pigs prior to transport to slaughter on behaviour, welfare and carcass lesions

peer-reviewedData set for article is also provided.Research is needed to validate lesions recorded at meat inspection as indicators of pig welfare on farm. The aims were to determine the influence of mixing pigs on carcass lesions and to establish whether such lesions correlate with pig behaviour and lesions scored on farm. Aggressive and mounting behaviour of pigs in three single sex pens was recorded on Day −5, −2, and −1 relative to slaughter (Day 0). On Day 0 pigs were randomly allocated to 3 treatments (n = 20/group) over 5 replicates: males mixed with females (MF), males mixed with males (MM), and males unmixed (MUM). Aggressive and mounting behaviours were recorded on Day 0 at holding on farm and lairage. Skin/tail lesions were scored according to severity at the farm (Day −1), lairage, and on the carcass (Day 0). Effect of treatment and time on behaviour and lesions were analysed by mixed models. Spearman rank correlations between behaviour and lesion scores and between scores recorded at different stages were determined. In general, MM performed more aggressive behaviour (50.4 ± 10.72) than MUM (20.3 ± 9.55, P < 0.05) and more mounting (30.9 ± 9.99) than MF (11.4 ± 3.76) and MUM (9.8 ± 3.74, P < 0.05). Skin lesion scores increased between farm (Day −1) and lairage (P < 0.001), but this tended to be significant only for MF and MM (P = 0.08). There was no effect of treatment on carcass lesions and no associations were found with fighting/mounting. Mixing entire males prior to slaughter stimulated mounting and aggressive behaviour but did not influence carcass lesion scores. Carcass skin/tail lesions scores were correlated with scores recorded on farm (rskin = 0.21 and rtail = 0.18, P < 0.01) suggesting that information recorded at meat inspection could be used as indicators of pig welfare on farm.This study was part of the PIGWELFIND project funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), Ireland

Behavioural responses of pasture based dairy cows to short term management in tie-stalls

peer-reviewedDairy cows in experimental grazing herds are often confined for metabolic measurements. The objective of this study was to establish effects of transfer from pasture, to tie-stalls in a metabolism house, then back to pasture, on lying behaviour and locomotion score of lactating cows: Holstein-Friesian (H, n = 16), Jersey (J, n = 16) and H × J (HJ, n = 16). Cows were transferred to tie-stalls on d 1 for 12 days, and were offered freshly cut ryegrass according to herbage allowance (HERB) and genotype: J low = 14; J high = 17; H and HJ low = 16; and H and HJ high = 20 kg DM/d. Lying behaviour was recorded on four days: −2, −1 (Pre-confinement), 3 (Early confinement), 10, 11 (Late confinement), 13 and 14 (Post-confinement) relative to transfer (d 1) using dataloggers, and was also video-recorded during the first 15 h. Locomotion score was recorded on days −4, −3, 12 and 16. No effects of HERB on lying variables were observed during the first 15 h in confinement, but J cows made more lying intentions (21.0 vs. 12.2; P < 0.05) and tended (P = 0.07) to have a shorter latency to lie. Cows spent less (P < 0.001) time lying in early confinement (07:22:29 h/d) than on any of the other occasions (9:12:50 h/d). Cows had more (P < 0.001) and shorter (P < 0.001) lying bouts in confinement than while at pasture. Low HERB cows spent more time lying than high HERB cows (09:54:55 vs. 09:09:33 h/d; P < 0.01). J had higher locomotion scores than H (9.2 ± 0.2 vs.7.8 ± 0.2; P < 0.001), and tended (P = 0.09) to have higher scores than HJ (8.5 ± 0.2) cows. Locomotion scores were lowest pre confinement, highest at turnout (d 12), and intermediate after that at pasture (d 16) (7.6 ± 0.2, 9.3 ± 0.2 and 8.6 ± 0.3, respectively; P < 0.01). On transfer to the metabolism house cows showed disrupted patterns of lying although daily lying time returned to levels similar to pasture by late confinement. Confinement also resulted in a short-term deterioration in locomotory ability, which although improving, was still evident 4 days following the cows return to pasture with Jersey cows being more affected than the other genotypes. These findings suggest that longer adaptation periods and temporary release to loafing areas may improve both the validity of data collected and cow welfare

Eficácia e ética na transformação do pasto em leite: aspectos etológicos no suprimento de água

Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Centro de Ciências Agrárias. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Agroecossistemas.Apesar de sua reconhecida importância na nutrição animal, a forma de suprir água aos bovinos leiteiros tem sido insuficientemente considerada. Com o intuito de identificar alternativas tecnicamente eficazes e eticamente adequadas para o suprimento de água, foram realizados dois estudos para verificar: 1) a preferência de vacas leiteiras por formato, volume e disposição de bebedouros; 2) a relevância da hierarquia social entre animais no consumo de água em regime de suprimento restrito ou permanente. As vacas manifestaram preferência significativa por bebedouros de maior área de espelho d'água. A altura do bebedouro não afetou o consumo total de água e o tempo bebendo, mas o número de goles foi significativamente maior em bebedouros mais baixos. O suprimento permanente de água levou a um consumo significativamente maior do que o restrito (30 minutos/dia), mas não foram verificadas diferenças no consumo em função da hierarquia social. Os resultados indicam que o formato e o regime de suprimento de água afetam o comportamento de ingestão de água de vacas leiteiras e influenciam tanto a produtividade quanto o bem-estar animal

Chilean citizens opinion about two contentious management practices of beef cattle production systems

A survey regarding opinion of Chilean citizens towards two contentious management practices<br