Abstract
Simple SummaryNamibia is in the process of updating animal welfare legislation. This needs to include an assessment protocol for beef cattle production systems that is sufficiently rigorous for the country to gain and maintain access to high-value beef export markets. Beef is produced in commercial and semi-commercial systems and in communal village farms. Privately owned commercial farms allow maximum herd and rangeland management to ensure optimum productivity and profitability. Village farms (semi-commercial and communal) have limited grazing land, with consequent challenges of grazing and water management, as well as traditional customs of cattle management. A protocol was developed to assess the welfare of beef cattle in the context of these production systems. The application of the welfare assessment protocol indicated that the standards of welfare differed across production systems, with commercial farms achieving the best standard of welfare, followed by semi-commercial, then communal village farms. The greatest opportunity for change exists within the semi-commercial village farms, which need to attain to the requirements imposed by international markets to maximize their returns; hence herd management and welfare status is better than in the purely communal farms. This suggests that commercialization of communal farming may have benefits for animal welfare.A proposed animal welfare assessment protocol for semi-arid rangeland-based cow–calf systems in Namibia combined 40 measures from a protocol developed for beef cattle in New Zealand with additional Namibia-specific measures. Preliminary validation of the protocol had been undertaken with five herds in one semi-commercial village. The aim of the current study was to apply this protocol and compare animal welfare across three cow–calf production systems in Namibia. A total of 2529 beef cows were evaluated during pregnancy testing in the yards of 17 commercial, 20 semi-commercial, and 18 communal (total: 55) herds followed by an assessment of farm resources and a questionnaire-guided interview. Non-parametric tests were used to evaluate the difference in the welfare scores between the production systems. The results indicated a discrepancy of animal welfare between the three farm types, with a marked separation of commercial farms from semi-commercial, and communal village farms in the least. The differences in these production systems were mainly driven by economic gains through access to better beef export market for commercial farms and semi-commercial villages, as well as by the differences in the available grazing land, facility designs/quality, and traditional customs in the village systems. The results indicate an advantage of commercialization over communalization.
Highlights
Namibian farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fedNamibian beefbeef farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fed conditions [1,2].The beef cattle industry is predominantly driven by the demarcation conditions [1,2]
For 16/25 measures, the welfare outcome was better on commercial herds than semi-commercial herds, and for 19/25 it was better on commercial herds than communal herds (Tables 3 and 4)
The study evaluated the welfare of beef cattle in the various extensive beef production systems of Namibia
Summary
Namibian farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fedNamibian beefbeef farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fed conditions [1,2].The beef cattle industry is predominantly driven by the demarcation conditions [1,2]. Namibian farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fed. Namibian beefbeef farming is dependent on extensive grazing under semi-arid, rain-fed conditions [1,2]. The beef cattle industry is predominantly driven by the demarcation conditions [1,2]. The beef cattle industry is predominantly driven by the demarcation of of Namibia into two(northern parts (northern and southern) the veterinary fencesee (VCF; Namibia into two parts and southern) by the by veterinary cordoncordon fence (VCF; see 1). North of the VCF, livestock and livestock products are not eligible for overseas export of the VCF, livestock and livestock products are not eligible for overseas export because because of the risk of FMD which is endemic in north-east Namibia [3,4]. All farming of the risk of FMD which is endemic in north-east Namibia [3,4]. All farming rangeland rangeland northisofallocated the VCF to is allocated to communal farmers with customary tenure [5,6]
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