Studies of stress in farm animals

Abstract

Major changes have taken place in animal production over the last three decades. Housing conditions have changed dramatically over this period, and there has been a striking increase in production. Agricultural animals try to cope with these highly demanding conditions (stressors) using behavioural and physiological stress responses aiming to restore homeostasis. When these responses are not successful or when they are thwarted, typical behavioural and physiological symptoms of chronic stress occur. In this situation, the welfare of the animal is clearly at stake. Moreover, chronic stress may seriously affect the efficiency of animal production and the quality of the product. Ultimately, detailed knowledge of stress responses in agricultural animals will allow the formulation of housing and management requirements, including handling by humans, which will benefit welfare and health of farm animals as well as production efficiency. This paper briefly addresses some important issues regarding the study of stress and welfare in farm animals, and discusses some recently developed experimental methods as well as relevant results obtained in our laboratory.