Animal Welfare Matters Research Articles

Farm to fork strategy: Animal welfare, EU trade policy, and public participation

AbstractThis article presents an analysis of the Farm to Fork Strategy (F2F Strategy) on animal welfare matters though the lens of EU trade policy and public participation. It shows that the mix of cooperation tools contained in bilateral agreements with trade components support in aggregate the Strategy's actions on animal welfare. However, individual bilateral agreements may need to be renegotiated and modernised to include more powerful cooperation tools to achieve sustainable food systems through the adoption and implementation of animal welfare standards. One way of achieving this is to negotiate the inclusion of sustainable food systems chapters that highlight the linkages between animal welfare, agriculture, sustainability, climate, environment, and public health. However, such robust chapters should be monitored and enforced in a correspondingly robust manner, for example, by restructuring chapters' committees and work groups. The article concludes that enhanced public participation, both at the level of legislative proposals (public consultations) and at the level of trade policy (domestic advisory groups, standardisation committees), may better support achieving policy objectves of animal welfare measures of the F2F Strategy.

Comparison of Methods for Individual Killing of Broiler Chickens: A Matter of Animal Welfare and On-Farm Feasibility

The humane killing of individual broiler chickens on-farm requires a minimum of suffering. In this regard, rapid and irreversible loss of consciousness are important determinants. This can be verified by cerebral and spinal reflexes. Also, on-farm feasibility determines whether producers will apply the method. The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness and animal welfare impact of two different methods for killing individual broilers of varying ages (2, 4, and 6 weeks): manual cervical dislocation (CD) and captive bolt (CB). The evaluation of CD and CB was based on effectiveness and on time to onset (convulsions) or cessation (pain response, pupillary light reflex, convulsions, heartbeat) of non-invasive indicators. In addition, a pilot study was conducted on-farm to assess the feasibility of two alternative methods, CB and nitrogen gasification (N2), and to survey farmers’ opinions on them. The onset of convulsions was almost immediate for both methods in the first study. No differences between CD and CB were observed for the cessation of pain response for chickens at age of 2 weeks (5.0 and 7.5 s, respectively) and 6 weeks (14.0 and 14.1 s, respectively). However, at 4 weeks a longer pain response was measured after CD (11.3 s) than after CB (4.7 s). For the three age categories, the pupillary light reflex disappeared later after CD (54.9 - 80.7 s) compared to CB (8.3 - 13.7 s). The same was observed for cessation of convulsions in 2- and 6-week-old chickens (185.3 and 172.0 s for CD and 79.0 and 82.9 s for CB). This suggests that brain death occurred faster after CB compared to CD. No difference between the methods was found for the cessation of the heartbeat. After the pilot study, the producers preferred N2 over CB in terms of animal-friendliness, time-efficiency, ease of use, and effectiveness. However, both methods were found rather expensive and required some experience. CB and N2 are good killing alternatives to CD due to rapid and irreversible insensibility. However, more information and support for chicken producers will be needed for these to become routine killing methods.

Dog behaviours in veterinary consultations: Part 1. Effect of the owner’s presence or absence

Veterinary practices can be stressful places for dogs. Decreasing stress during veterinary consultations is therefore a major concern, since animal welfare matters both for owners and veterinarians. Stress can be expressed through behaviour modifications; monitoring canine behaviour is thus one way to assess stress levels. We also know that the owner can affect dog behaviour in different ways. The aim of this study was therefore to assess the effect of the presence of owners on the behaviour of their dogs in veterinary consultations. We studied 25 dog-owner dyads at two standardised veterinary consultations, conducted at intervals of 5–7 weeks; the owner was present for the first consultation and absent for the second (O/NoO group, n = 12), or vice versa (NoO/O group, n = 13). A consultation consisted in three phases: exploration, examination, greeting. Dog behaviours were compared between the two conditions using a video recording.Despite some limitations (e.g. no male owners, the exclusion of aggressive dogs, a limited sample size, minimally invasive veterinary examinations, restricted owner-dog interactions), our results showed that the presence or absence of the owner had no significant effect on the stress-related behaviour of the dog or the veterinarian’s ability to handle the animal during the examination phase (P > 0.05). Nevertheless, the behaviour of the dogs towards people was affected before, during, and after the veterinary examination. In the presence of their owner, dogs were more willing to enter the consultation room (P < 0.05), and they appeared more relaxed during the exploration phase (P < 0.01). During the examination, dogs looked in direction of their owner in both situations (owner present and behind the door, respectively; P < 0.001). These results suggest that allowing the owner to stay in the room during veterinary consultations is a better option for canine welfare.

Strengthening livestock welfare policies to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts

Strengthening livestock welfare policies to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts

Preliminary project design for insect production: part 4 – facility considerations

At the end of the preliminary project design (PPD) phase an aspiring entopreneur should have a clear idea of the scope and scale of the project being proposed. Hence, during PPD a number of aspects of the facilities must be considered. These are here dealt with in terms of basic questions that should first be answered about the project as a whole; project location issues; to what degree the facility is to be integrated or segregated into different units; what functionality is to be housed within the various building envelopes; and how safety and hygiene concerns can be addressed. As well, three ancillary issues are discussed that may affect facility design, construction and operation: the development of new production organisms that can grow on low-cost feeds; the possibility of disease evolution; and the matter of animal welfare.

Germination-Arrest Bacillus subtilis Spores as An Oral Delivery Vehicle of Grass Carp Reovirus (GCRV) Vp7 Antigen Augment Protective Immunity in Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella).

Oral vaccination is a practical method for the active immunization of farmed fish in the matter of animal welfare and handling costs. However, it always shows insufficient protective immunity, mainly due to antigen degradation in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Bacillus subtilis spores have been shown to be able to protect surface-display heterologous antigens against degradation. Neverthless, the spores can germinate in GIT, which causes loss of the antigens with spore coat disassembly. Here, we developed a novel surface display system using the B. subtilis spore coat proteins CotB and CotC as anchors for the heterogenous antigen, and the germination-controlling genes cwlJ and sleB as the ectopic integration sites for the fusion genes. Using this display system, we engineered germination-arrest spores displaying the model antigen Vp7 of grass carp reovirus (GCRV) on their surface. Oral vaccination of the engineered spores could confer immune protection against GCRV in grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) via eliciting adaptive humoral and cellular immune responses. Most importantly, the germination-arrest spores were shown to significantly augment immunogenicity and protection above the engineered spores based on the existing surface display system. Therefore, the presently reported antigen expression strategy opens new and promising avenues for developing oral vaccines for the immunization of farmed fish species.

Planning and Animal Welfare Law: Considering Why Planning Authorities in the Republic of Ireland Should have Regard to Animal Welfare Laws as Part of the Planning Process.

Animal welfare legislation routinely places obligations on owners of animals to take action to ensure that the welfare of the animal(s) is protected. Such legislation often requires animals to be sheltered by appropriate housing. Where facilities are built to provide animal housing it may be necessary to seek planning permission for the development, this is particularly an issue in relation to commercial facilities. The general approach of planning authorities in the Republic of Ireland is not to have regard to animal welfare matters at the planning stage. With reference to commercial dog breeding this paper considers the implications of the failure to have regard to animal welfare legislation during the planning process and the impact this can have on both animal welfare, but also the risks such an approach poses to the environment and public health.

The EU-Mexico Global Agreement: A Groundbreaking Precedent for Animal Welfare in Trade Policy

On 21 April 2018, after only two years of negotiations, the European Union and Mexico announced the conclusion of the modernization of their 1997 ‘Global Agreement’, covering both political and trade cooperation between the two partners. The new text includes a unique chapter on animal welfare and antimicrobial resistance – sending a strong statement to the world that animal welfare matters and is critical to protect Europe’s values and the health of European citizens. As such it sets a groundbreaking precedent for international and EU trade policy, as well as for animal welfare. As the world’s fourth producer of eggs (most of them from caged hens), the seventh of poultry meat, the sixth of beef, and the fifteenth of pork, Mexico is a key country for animal products. It has the second largest amount of livestock among Latin American countries behind Brazil, accounting for around 550 million chickens, 34 million heads of cattle and 17 million pigs. (FAO statistics collected for 2016.) Promoting better animal welfare standards through the newly concluded agreement could thus improve the life of millions of farm animals, wild animals kept in captivity and those used for scientific purposes.

Animal welfare matters: my new career

Physical disability meant that Kim Halford found veterinary practice challenging; she is now treading a new career path promoting animal welfare in a variety of ways.

Animal Welfare and Social Decisions: Is It Time to Take Bentham Seriously?

This paper analyzes and questions the standard welfare economics assumption of anthropocentric welfarism, i.e., that only human well-being counts intrinsically. Alternatives where also animal welfare matters intrinsically are analyzed both theoretically and empirically. The general public's ethical preferences are measured through a survey of a representative sample in Sweden, and the responses from a clear majority suggest that animal welfare should indeed carry intrinsic weight in public decision making. Current legislation in many countries is consistent with this. A brief review of moral philosophy on animal welfare indicates that a large majority of philosophers believe that animal welfare should count intrinsically. It is moreover demonstrated that it is theoretically and practically possible to generalize welfare economics in order to give intrinsic value also to animal welfare. The paper concludes that there are strong reasons to (sometimes) generalize welfare economics in order to take animal welfare into account directly, i.e., in addition to effects through individual utilities. The practical implications of doing so are likely to be more important over time as the scientific methods of measuring animal welfare are gradually improving.

Utilitarianism and Animal Cruelty: Further Doubts

Utilitarianism has an apparent pedigree when it comes to animal welfare. It supports the view that animal welfare matters just as much as human welfare. And many utilitarians support and oppose various practices in line with more mainstream concern over animal welfare, such as that we should not kill animals for food or other uses, and that we ought not to torture animals for fun. This relationship has come under tension from many directions. The aim of this article is to add further considerations in support of that tension. I suggest three ways in which utilitarianism comes significantly apart from mainstream concerns with animal welfare. First, utilitarianism opposes animal cruelty only when it offers an inefficient ratio of pleasure to pain; while this may be true of eating animal products, it is not obviously true of other abuses. Second, utilitarianism faces a familiar problem of the inefficacy of individual decisions; I consider a common response to this worry, and offer further concerns. Finally, the common utilitarian argument against animal cruelty ignores various pleasures that humans may get from the superior status that a structure supporting exploitation confers.

The Importance of Animal Welfare Science and Ethics to Veterinary Students in Australia and New Zealand.

The study of animal welfare and ethics (AWE) as part of veterinary education is important due to increasing community concerns and expectations about this topic, global pressures regarding food security, and the requirements of veterinary accreditation, especially with respect to Day One Competences. To address several key questions regarding the attitudes to AWE of veterinary students in Australia and New Zealand (NZ), the authors surveyed the 2014 cohort of these students. The survey aimed (1) to reveal what AWE topics veterinary students in Australia and NZ consider important as Day One Competences, and (2) to ascertain how these priorities align with existing research on how concern for AWE relates to gender and stage of study. Students identified triage and professional ethics as the most important Day One Competences in AWE. Students ranked an understanding of triage as increasingly important as they progressed through their program. Professional ethics was rated more important by early and mid-stage students than by senior students. Understanding the development of animal welfare science and perspectives on animal welfare were rated as being of little importance to veterinary graduates as Day One Competences, and an understanding of "why animal welfare matters" declined as the students progressed through the program. Combined, these findings suggest that veterinary students consider it more important to have the necessary practical skills and knowledge to function as a veterinarian on their first day in practice.

Recognizing and responding to cases of suspected animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect: what the veterinarian needs to know.

The identification of a “battered pets” syndrome, which put the veterinary profession on a parallel footing with its counterparts in human medicine who respond to battered children, women, and elders, expanded the veterinarian’s role as an advocate for animals’ welfare to include the recognition of, response to, and prevention of animal abuse. Professional policies and legislation in several nations have been amended to define these responsibilities and delineate appropriate responses when animal maltreatment or other forms of family violence are suspected. This article reviews these changes, discusses abuse as a matter of animal welfare and public health, and summarizes research describing animal abuse as a possible indicator and predictor of interpersonal violence. Five steps that helped build human health care’s response to child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse, and that are analogous to forces in contemporary veterinary practice, are described. It familiarizes practitioners with terminology used in animal cruelty investigations. It describes clinical presentations, client profiles and behaviors, and environmental conditions that may raise a practitioner’s index of suspicion of possible animal maltreatment. It reviews protocols that practitioners may employ to respond compassionately and effectively to suspected animal abuse and enhance successful law enforcement investigations and prosecutions. Such responses can unite human and veterinary medicine in a common concern for vulnerable, victimized, and at-risk populations and position veterinarians as an essential part of public health approaches to break the cycles of violence affecting animals and human members of the family and community.

Paving the way for farm animal welfare in international relations: an EU–Brazil case study

As a sensitive area in international trade, animal welfare measures have encountered resistance in negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO). Consequently, alternative avenues have been pursued to reach international trade policy convergence. To further understand the contemporary trade politics of animal welfare, an empirical investigation was conducted on the interplay between European and Brazilian actors in the context of livestock production. By drawing upon diplomatic studies and the global governance literature, this study identifies and analyses initiatives that parallel the WTO approach and through which the development and implementation of mutually acceptable farm animal welfare measures have been pursued. Research findings indicate that a constellation of international non-diplomatic actors are currently engaged in influencing the future development of farm animal welfare measures. Among the initiatives that enable the alignment of European and Brazilian animal welfare policies and practices, there are soft instruments such as knowledge sharing and private standards. The rise of new actors and the use of soft instruments have been, to a certain extent, able to mitigate the tardiness of a WTO consensus regarding the use of animal welfare measures. However, there are concerns that the use of private standards has become a shortcut to circumvent the rigours of the multilateral trading system. This concern deserves a closer look because instead of paving the way, private standards may hamper trade relations which in turn hamper progress in animal welfare matters.

Fledgling vets get ready to fly

The BVA AWF Animal Welfare Forum takes place just before the annual Lancaster Final‐Year Student Seminar. It allows students to get to grips with animal welfare matters in a fun and relaxed atmosphere, before they go on the seminar itself, where they prepare for the transition from university to working life

Beurteilung erblicher Defekte und Dispositionen beim Pferd unter tierschutzrechtlichen Gesichtspunkten

Persons involved in equine breeding, namely veterinarians, horse breeders and breeding association judges, often lack of an apropriate consciousness about the relevance of heritability or supposed heritability of common horses diseases, which might play a distinctive role in the aetiology of numerous of these diseases. Executing animal welfare rights in equine breeding, the major concern should focus on an objective evaluation of pain, suffering and damages caused by different hereditary diseases. The basis of assessment for hygienic breeding has to be defi ned according to the actual animal welfare rights throughout guidelines, established by the state and by breeding associations. Hereditary diseases scientifi cally proven as relevant for animal welfare matters or including a potential risk of pain, suffering or damage, should be regarded as essential criterion in horse breeding. In this context following diseases have to be mentioned in particular: Osteochondritis dissecans, deep fl exor tendon contracture in the foal, navicular disease, tarsal osteoarthritis, hyperkalemic periodic paralysis, Overo-lethal-white- foal-syndrome.

Behavior and performance of broiler strains reared under semi-intensive system with shaded areas

The matter of animal welfare has led to studies in order to evaluate alternative rearing systems for livestock in order to improve well-being. The semi-intensive system is an alternative method of rearing broilers in which the birds are kept in a poultry house and have free access to a pasture area during the day. It is known that ambient conditions may directly affect the behavior of birds reared in the semi-intensive system. Therefore, this research evaluated the behavior of four broiler strains reared under a semi-intensive system with a shaded area (provided by a black plastic screen - 50%) and the bioclimatic characteristics of this environment when compared with the non-shaded pasture. Thirty-five birds were reared in pens with 4.5 m2 and 35 m2 of pasture. Ambient variables were measured throughout the day to calculate the indexes of thermal comfort (BGHI and enthalpy). Data was analyzed in a 4 x 2 factorial (4 strains and 2 rearing environments) with 2 repetitions, in order to establish the rate of bird permanence in the pasture. There was an improvement in the ambient conditions of the shaded pasture in the hottest hours of the day (from 10:00 to 14:00 h), i.e., there was a reduction in the mean values of BGHI (approximately 26%) and enthalpy (36%). As a consequence, there was an increase in the rate of permanence in this environment if compared with the non-shaded pasture. Three out of four evaluated strains showed better adaptability to the semi-intensive rearing system.

Animal welfare

Explores key trends explaining consumer concerns and actions on animal welfare. Concludes that concerns are not a fad, but deep‐seated and here to stay. UK livestock production, distribution and processing systems and practices have evolved, will and should evolve to allow farm animals “to enjoy a decent life” and to satisfy reasonable consumer concerns on animal welfare matters. Presents the UK industry with both threats and opportunities. Livestock products that are animal welfare‐friendly, produced with traditional/natural methods and carry “passports” offer important consumer benefits that can provide a competitive edge. The farm sector needs to forge alliances with organizations, such as the RSPCA, which are viewed as credible on welfare matters by consumers. However, addressing consumer concerns about animals, per se, will not reverse the declining domestic market for livestock products – this will require more comprehensive, industry‐wide efforts to deliver the full range of benefits to consumers that they demand from food products in the twenty‐first century.

Codes of animal welfare

In 1989 the then New Zealand (NZ) Minister of Agriculture set up an Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (AWAC) to advise him on animal welfare matters. The Committee has continued in existence and now consists of members from the following backgrounds: the farming community, animal welfare groups, the veterinary profession, behavioural science and the NZ Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. It also includes the Chairman of the NZ National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee, an independent chairman and, up to February 1991, a philosopher. Much of the Committee's work has been directed towards a series of Codes of Recommendations and Minimum Standards for the Welfare of Animals.

Animal welfare and human welfare

In the first part of this paper, we examine the two kinds of positive reply that can be given to the question “why does animal welfare matter?” The first reply attempts to show that animal welfare matters because it contributes to human welfare; the second attempts to show that animal welfare matters “in itself”. Some of the implications of these different replies are explored through the examination of two examples, one concerning the protection of animals in the wild, the other from the field of animal husbandry. In both cases, the arguments that are consistent with the two kinds of reply are examined. In the second part of the paper, we explore the possibility that there may be rational grounds for a person to adopt one kind of reply, along with the arguments that are appropriate to it, rather than the other. The grounds identified are: (1) the intellectual need to be consistent with the way that we draw the distinction between humans and other animals (assuming that we do make such a distinction); (2) the need to be consistent with our position with respect to religion, and whatever consequences this may have for our view of human and animal nature; (3) the need to be consistent with the stand that we adopt in other areas of morality. In conclusion, we show that an awareness of the basis for arguments concerning animal welfare and of possible disagreements about this basis, can assist rational and open discussion of controversial issues relating to animal welfare. When participants in a debate proceed with such an awareness and with an appreciation of the basic principles adopted by other participants, then some common ground may often be found and, along with this, a mutual agreement that some answers are definitely wrong.