Abstract
Simple SummaryFor at least the last four decades, the focus of animal welfare research, quality assurance, and policy initiatives has been on measuring behavioural and physiological stress responses in animals. In the last decade, however, this focus of animal welfare research has shifted to the consequences of these behavioural and physiological stress responses rather than only the responses per se. Modern-day farming, even with the intensification and automation requires regular monitoring and interactions by stockpeople. Research conducted in both experimental and commercial settings has shown widespread effects of the human-animal interactions on behaviour, physiology, and reproductive performance in farm animals. In this paper, we review the implications of human-animal interactions on reproduction in farm animals.A negative human-animal relationship (HAR) from the perspective of the animal is a limiting factor affecting farm animal welfare, as well as farm animal productivity. Research in farm animals has elucidated sequential relationships between stockperson attitudes, stockperson behaviour, farm animal fear behaviour, farm animal stress physiology, and farm animal productivity. In situations where stockperson attitudes to and interactions with farm animals are sub-optimal, through animal fear and stress, both animal welfare and productivity, including reproductive performance, can be compromised. There is a growing body of evidence that farm animals often seek and enjoy interacting with humans, but our understanding of the effects of a positive HAR on stress resilience and productivity in farm animals is limited. In this review, we explore the pathways by which stress induced by human-animal interactions can negatively affect farm animal reproduction, in particular, via inhibitory effects on the secretion of gonadotrophins. We also review the current knowledge of the stockperson characteristics and the nature of stockperson interactions that affect fear and physiological stress in farm animals. The contents of this review provide an insight into the importance of the HAR on farm animal welfare and reproduction while highlighting the gap in knowledge regarding the effects of a positive HAR on farm animals.
Highlights
The structure of modern livestock farming has generally evolved in the last seven decades from small family-owned enterprises to large-scale intensive commercial systems to meet the growing need for economically affordable and safe meat, milk, and eggs [1–3]. This intensification of farming involving concentration on fewer farms with increased animal numbers but with a decreased workforce has resulted in each stockperson managing more animals with many of the stockperson interactions such as restraint, vaccination, and surgical interventions tending towards negative interactions with animals with reduced time or effort allocated to positive interactions [4–6]
The modern-day management of animals by humans from household pets to livestock is based on two important principles: management practices that comply with the objectives of human profit, benefits, or pleasure; and alternatively, management practices to comply with humane care of animals [7]
Stress-induced activation of the HPA axis causes the neurons of the paraventricular nucleus to release neuropeptides corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and arginine vasopressin (AVP) in most mammals, except pigs, which secrete lysine vasopressin instead [27,28]
Summary
The structure of modern livestock farming has generally evolved in the last seven decades from small family-owned enterprises to large-scale intensive commercial systems to meet the growing need for economically affordable and safe meat, milk, and eggs [1–3] This intensification of farming involving concentration on fewer farms with increased animal numbers but with a decreased workforce has resulted in each stockperson managing more animals with many of the stockperson interactions such as restraint, vaccination, and surgical interventions tending towards negative interactions with animals with reduced time or effort allocated to positive interactions [4–6]. Rushen and colleagues [13] have provided convincing evidence that performing an aversive treatment at a specific location or by either an unfamiliar or familiar stockperson wearing different distinctive clothing may prevent farm animals from associating the procedure with a particular stockperson All of these stockperson interactions, contribute to the overall relationship that animals have with humans and are important in determining if the relationship from the animal’s perspective is positive, neutral, or negative. While Hemsworth, Coleman, and colleagues [5,10,12] have reviewed the human factors affecting stockperson interactions with farm animals, the present review will focus on the implications of stockperson behaviour on animal reproduction and the behavioural and physiological mechanisms whereby these interactions can affect reproductive outcomes
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