Abstract
Simple SummaryThe aim of this study was to assess the reliability and practicality of 10 animal-based welfare measures for extensively managed ewes, which were derived from the scientific literature, previous welfare protocols and through consultation with veterinarians and animal welfare scientists. Measures were examined on 100 Merino ewes, which were individually identified and repeatedly examined at mid-pregnancy, mid-lactation and weaning. Body condition score, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score and lameness are proposed for on-farm use in welfare assessments of extensive sheep production systems. These six welfare measures, which address the main welfare concerns for extensively managed ewes, can be reliably and feasibly measured in the field.The reliability and feasibility of 10 animal-based measures of ewe welfare were examined for use in extensive sheep production systems. Measures were: Body condition score (BCS), rumen fill, fleece cleanliness, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score, foot-wall integrity, hoof overgrowth and lameness, and all were examined on 100 Merino ewes (aged 2–4 years) during mid-pregnancy, mid-lactation and weaning by a pool of nine trained observers. The measures of BCS, fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score and lameness were deemed to be reliable and feasible. All had good observer agreement, as determined by the percentage of agreement, Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W) and Kappa (k) values. When combined, these nutritional and health measures provide a snapshot of the current welfare status of ewes, as well as evidencing previous or potential welfare issues.
Highlights
On-farm welfare assessments can be used for immediate or ongoing on-farm monitoring and benchmarking by farmers and veterinarians, and to demonstrate compliance with national and international legal welfare standards and farm assurance schemes [1,2]
Pair agreement was higher for fleece cleanliness and fleece condition, while Body condition score (BCS), rumen fill and tail length presented the lowest
Fleece condition, skin lesions, tail length, dag score and lameness are proposed for on-farm use in welfare assessments of extensive sheep production systems
Summary
On-farm welfare assessments can be used for immediate or ongoing on-farm monitoring and benchmarking by farmers and veterinarians, and to demonstrate compliance with national and international legal welfare standards and farm assurance schemes [1,2]. For welfare assessments to be effective and acceptable to all key stakeholders (i.e., industry, animals, scientists, consumers and society), they must incorporate welfare measures that are meaningful with respect to animal welfare, provide repeatable outcomes when applied by different observers and practical under farm conditions; that is they must be valid, reliable and feasible [2,3]. Welfare measures can be classified into categories that assess housing and facilities (resource-based measures), farmer policies and management strategies (management-based measures), and direct animal observations (animal-based measures) [4,5]. Animals 2018, 8, 2 practices, and there is increasing interest to incorporate these measures in welfare assessments, as they provide an integrative and direct measurement of the welfare state of animals [6,7,8]. Some examples of animal-based measures include the assessment of the nutritional state (e.g., body condition score), environmental conditions (e.g., fleece cleanliness) and diseases (e.g., lameness). Cannot automatically be extrapolated from one species to another [3]
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