Abstract
The aim of this work was to study the perception of beef cattle producers in the state of Paraná, Brazil, about hot iron branding. Seventeen beef cattle producers answered a questionnaire about their perspective on cattle identification methods and animal welfare aspects. Results showed that there is a consensus among farmers that the identification of animals at their farms is an important practice. The majority of farmers (12/17) use hot iron branding as the main method of identification of cattle and most farmers (11/17) believe it is an efficient Method. Considering costs and applicability, 10/17 farmers believe there are other methods of identification that would be viable for utilization at their farms; ear tagging (7/17) and microchipping (3/17) were the most mentioned alternatives. Farmers affirmed believing that animals are sentient beings (16/17) and capable of experiencing pain (17/17). On a scale from 1-5, scores attributed to pain experienced capabilities of different species were high for human babies, sheep and dogs (median = 5.0). The median score attributed to the pain experienced by cattle during branding with a hot iron was 4.0, ranging from 2.0 to 5.0. In conclusion, the opinion of cattle producers in the State of Paraná, Brazil, indicates recognition of animal sentience and their ability to experience pain. Future efforts should focus on refining and developing new methods that are effective and inexpensive, motivating producers to use procedures that respect the quality of life of their animals.
Highlights
Concerns about animal welfare have focused largely on the pain and distress animals may experience as a result of common practices held on farms
Of all painful practices performed at beef cattle farms, hot iron branding is of special interest
The institution which agreed to participate was founded by producers and it contributed with contact details of eleven producers, which represented all farmers registered with them
Summary
Concerns about animal welfare have focused largely on the pain and distress animals may experience as a result of common practices held on farms (von Keyserlingk et al, 2009). Of all painful practices performed at beef cattle farms, hot iron branding is of special interest. It is still common practice in cattle farms all over the world, despite all the scientific information indicating its aversive effects on animals and its lack of efficiency on identifying animals (Lindegaard and Andersen, 2012). In a study conducted in Canada, cattle being branded with hot iron showed significantly greater frequencies of tail flicks, kicks, falls in the chute, and vocalizations than animals experiencing a sham branding procedure (Schwarzkopf-Genswein et al, 1997). Cattle being branded with hot iron vocalized more frequently and displayed specific facial expressions associated with pain in a higher proportion than animals sham branded (Müller, 2014)
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