Livestock Welfare Research Articles

Validating Ultra-Wideband Positioning System for Precision Cow Tracking in a Commercial Free-Stall Barn

UWB positioning systems offer innovative solutions for precision monitoring dairy cow behaviour and social dynamics, yet their performance in complex commercial barn environments requires thorough validation. This study evaluated the TrackLab 2.13 (Noldus) UWB system in a dairy barn housing 44–49 cows. We assessed stationary tag positioning using ten fixed tags over seven days, proximity detection between eight cows and ten stationary tags, and moving tag positioning using three tags on a stick to simulate cow movement. System performance varied by tag location, with reliability ranging from 4.09% to 96.73% and an overall mean accuracy of 0.126 ± 0.278 m for stationary tags. After the provider updated the software, only 0.62% of measures exceeded the declared accuracy of 0.30 m. Proximity detection between moving cows and stationary tags showed 81.42% accuracy within a 2-m range. While generally meeting specifications, spatial variations in accuracy and reliability were observed, particularly near barn perimeters. These findings highlight UWB technology’s potential for precision livestock farming, welfare assessment, and behaviour research, including social interactions and space use patterns. Results emphasise the need for careful system setup, regular updates, and context-aware data interpretation in commercial settings to maximise benefits in animal welfare monitoring.

Exploring longitudinal associations between farmer wellbeing and the welfare of their livestock. The HUNT Study, Norway

The One Welfare approach acknowledges the interrelationships between human wellbeing and animal welfare. Early research has suggested associations between stockperson wellbeing and livestock welfare, however these scenarios are complex and challenging to untangle.In this study, we utilised merged data from over 700 farms to explore associations between farmer wellbeing and livestock welfare. The farms were engaged in cattle, sheep, and/or swine production in Norway between 2017 and 2020. The farmers participated in a general population-based health survey, and livestock welfare was measured using routinely collected, animal-based abattoir observations of over 480,000 animals. We determined a farm’s overall livestock welfare relative to the other farms and calculated within-farm differences in this relative welfare level over time. A subset of enterprises (n=328) with sufficient and non-ambiguous farmer wellbeing information were then used to explore differences in these within-farm differences by farmer wellbeing status. We found that poor farmer wellbeing — whether it was defined by anxiety symptoms, depression symptoms, symptoms of psychological distress, or life satisfaction — was associated with a deterioration in overall livestock welfare level (in terms of the mean of the farm’s abattoir observed welfare indicators). There was evidence that this association persisted for at least two years.Given societal concerns regarding sustainable food production, farmer wellbeing, and livestock welfare, further research is indicated to explore the complex farmer-livestock relationship within the One Welfare framework. This study suggests that using within-farm changes in relative livestock welfare derived from routinely collected information can be a useful approach.

Ferritin Vaccine Platform for Animal and Zoonotic Viruses

Viral infections in animals continue to pose a significant challenge, affecting livestock health, welfare, and food safety, and, in the case of zoonotic viruses, threatening global public health. The control of viral diseases currently relies on conventional approaches such as inactivated or attenuated vaccines produced via platforms with inherent limitations. Self-assembling ferritin nanocages represent a novel vaccine platform that has been utilized for several viruses, some of which are currently undergoing human clinical trials. Experimental evidence also supports the potential of this platform for developing commercial vaccines for veterinary viruses. In addition to improved stability and immunogenicity, ferritin-based vaccines are safe and DIVA-compatible, and can be rapidly deployed in response to emerging epidemics or pandemics. This review discusses the structural and functional properties of ferritin proteins, followed by an overview of the design and production of ferritin-based vaccines, the mechanisms of immune responses, and their applications in developing vaccines against animal and zoonotic viruses.

Review of farmer-centered AI systems technologies in livestock operations

Abstract The assessment of livestock welfare aids in keeping an eye on the health, physiology, and environment of the animals in order to prevent deterioration, detect injuries, stress, and sustain productivity. Because it puts more consumer pressure on farming industries to change how animals are treated to make them more humane, it has also grown to be a significant marketing tactic. Common visual welfare procedures followed by experts and vets could be expensive, subjective, and need specialized staff. Recent developments in artificial intelligence (AI) integrated with farmers’ expertise have aided in the creation of novel and cutting-edge livestock biometrics technologies that extract important physiological data linked to animal welfare. A thorough examination of physiological, behavioral, and health variables highlights AI's ability to provide accurate, rapid, and impartial assessments. Farmer-focused strategy: an emphasis on the crucial role that farmers play in the skillful adoption and prudent application of AI and sensor technologies, as well as conversations about developing logical, practical, and affordable solutions that are specific to the needs of farmers.

Digitalisation opportunities for livestock welfare monitoring with a focus on heat stress

Rising global temperatures due to climate change pose an increased risk of heat stress (HS) in livestock, which requires accurate prediction methods to improve animal welfare and mitigate heat-related economic losses. In this literature review, we aimed to critically examine the potential of digitalisation in precision livestock farming from the perspective of assessing heat stress in cattle. Particular attention was paid to the possibility of using sensors to record changes in behaviour, physiological parameters, and feed and water consumption as predictors for detecting and preventing heat stress and its consequences in animals. The use of already proven sensors, such as those that record animal behaviour, to assess physiological parameters related to heat stress may be promising, using innovative data processing technologies, which requires additional investigation in future studies. Precision livestock farming (PLF) technologies that enable real-time monitoring of herds under specific conditions, such as disease or stress, play a key role in increasing the efficiency of herd management. Sensors, cameras, microphones, GPS, accelerometers and RFID tags are commonly used to collect data on animal behaviour and physiological parameters, helping to detect stress. Machine learning algorithms applied to sensor data can distinguish between different states of declining cow welfare, helping farmers make quick decisions. In summary, the integration of sensors, artificial intelligence and precision devices can help prevent heat stress in farm animals, improving animal welfare and productivity, while mitigating the negative effects of heat stress caused by climate change.

Hyperspectral image reconstruction for predicting chick embryo mortality towards advancing egg and hatchery industry

As the demand for food surges and the agricultural sector undergoes a transformative shift towards sustainability and efficiency, the need for precise and proactive measures to ensure the health and welfare of livestock becomes paramount. In the egg and hatchery industry, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) has emerged as a cutting-edge, non-destructive technique for fast and accurate egg quality analysis, including detecting chick embryo mortality. However, the high cost and operational complexity compared to conventional RGB imaging are significant bottlenecks in the widespread adoption of HSI technology. To overcome these hurdles and unlock the full potential of HSI, a promising solution is hyperspectral image reconstruction from standard RGB images. This study aims to reconstruct hyperspectral images from RGB images for non-destructive early prediction of chick embryo mortality. Initially, the performance of different image reconstruction algorithms, such as HRNET, MST++, Restormer, and EDSR were compared to reconstruct the hyperspectral images of the eggs in the early incubation period. Later, the reconstructed spectra were used to differentiate live from dead embryos eggs using the XGBoost and Random Forest classification methods. Among the reconstruction methods, HRNET showed impressive reconstruction performance with MRAE of 0.0955, RMSE of 0.0159, and PSNR of 36.79 dB. This study motivated the idea that harnessing imaging technology integrated with smart sensors and data analytics has the potential to improve automation, enhance biosecurity, and optimize resource management towards sustainable agriculture 4.0.

Phenomics in Livestock Research: Bottlenecks and Promises of Digital Phenotyping and Other Quantification Techniques on a Global Scale.

Bottlenecks in moving genomics to real-life applications also include phenomics. This is true not only for genomics medicine and public health genomics but also in ecology and livestock phenomics. This expert narrative review explores the intricate relationship between genetic makeup and observable phenotypic traits across various biological levels in the context of livestock research. We unpack and emphasize the significance of precise phenotypic data in selective breeding outcomes and examine the multifaceted applications of phenomics, ranging from improvement to assessing welfare, reproductive traits, and environmental adaptation in livestock. As phenotypic traits exhibit strong correlations, their measurement alongside specific biological outcomes provides insights into performance, overall health, and clinical endpoints like morbidity and disease. In addition, automated assessment of livestock holds potential for monitoring the dynamic phenotypic traits across various species, facilitating a deeper comprehension of how they adapt to their environment and attendant stressors. A key challenge in genetic improvement in livestock is predicting individuals with optimal fitness without direct measurement. Temporal predictions from unmanned aerial systems can surpass genomic predictions, offering in-depth data on livestock. In the near future, digital phenotyping and digital biomarkers may further unravel the genetic intricacies of stress tolerance, adaptation and welfare aspects of animals enabling the selection of climate-resilient and productive livestock. This expert review thus delves into challenges associated with phenotyping and discusses technological advancements shaping the future of biological research concerning livestock.

Reparation with moving least squares sampling and extraction of body sizes of beef cattle from unilateral point clouds

Body measurements of beef cattle at various growth stages are crucial for assessing breeding quality. To decrease the stress responses of live cattle during measurement, noncontact body size measurement using a deep sensor is conducted. After directly obtaining the point cloud data (PCD) of a unilateral surface, novel point cloud repair and body measurement are proposed. The PCD of beef cattle are first preprocessed using Euclidean clustering, conditional filtering, and Random Sample Consensus. To merge the unilateral PCD into the entire contour, a Euclidean transformation matrix and moving least squares are applied. To address holes caused by stitching due to camera angle restrictions, various upsampling techniques based on least squares deformation are investigated to repair holes in different surfaces with varying growth stages. Finally, polynomial fitting is chosen to be in accordance with the feature point distribution of the body height (BH), chest girth (CG), back height (AH), waist height (WH), ischial tuberosity, and shoulder end of beef cattle. Using the formulas of Euclidean distance and cubic B–spline curve fitting, the values of BH, AH, WH, CG, and body length are obtained and then compared with manual measurement data. The predicted values of the five body sizes of 100 beef cattle had a mean absolute error and mean absolute percentage error of 7.77 cm and 5.42 %, respectively. The largest absolute error was 12.05 cm, and the smallest absolute error was 4.12 cm. A series of PCD processing and repair methods provides a new method for the noncontact automated measurement of beef cattle. This approach promotes more effective practices in livestock welfare and trait assessment compared with traditional management.

Exploring edible insects as feed in the UK: current challenges and future prospects

Abstract Edible insects are gaining attention within the UK’s feed industry, driven by their environmental and nutritional advantages. However, the UK insect sector is still relatively new. Therefore, this study aims to explore the primary challenges and opportunities faced by insect farmers, insect-related businesses, and feed operators in the UK, with the goal of formulating strategic plans to foster the growth of the insect sector. Ten in-depth interviews from key stakeholders highlight the several benefits of insect-based feed including contributing to the circular economy, advancing value-added product development, and enhancing livestock welfare. Despite these advantages, obstacles like limited research, ambiguous regulations, production constraints, and public acceptance concerns hinder progress. The study recommends strategic solutions involving tailored regulations, financial incentives, industry collaboration, awareness campaigns, and research investments. Implementing these strategies holds the potential to nurture the expansion of UK’s insect farming industry, bolstering sustainable agri-food systems, resource efficiency, and environmental consciousness.

Improved livestock production system and welfare in rural Ethiopia

AbstractWhile a lot has been written on the socio‐economic and welfare impacts of agricultural technologies, there has been a bias toward crop production systems to the neglect of improved livestock production methods and technologies. This paper explores the welfare impacts of improved livestock production practices and technologies using data from a low‐income country. Using an econometrics technique that corrects selection bias, the paper shows that the adoption of improved livestock production practices has a positive impact on household welfare, measured by consumption expenditure and diet quality. The study also identified increased consumption of animal source foods, reducing animal death and income from the sale of animals as potential mechanisms through which such improvements in livestock production affect family welfare.

Comparison of Bamboo and Wire Types of Battery Materials on the Welfare and Production Performance of Laying Hen

This research aimed to determine the comparison of types of battery materials for laying hens, specifically bamboo and wire, on the welfare and production performance of laying hens. The material for this research consisted of 100 laying hens of the ISA Brown strain aged 54 weeks. The variables observed included livestock welfare, which was assessed through behavioral aspects (eating, drinking, and resting), while the production performance variables observed included HDP (Hen Day Production), egg weight, egg mass, and FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio). The research method employed an experimental approach using the T-test (independent sample). Two treatments were used, each with 50 replications. The results of the research indicated that the difference in treatment using T1 (bamboo battery materials) and T2 (wire battery materials) affected livestock welfare and production performance. The research results demonstrated that the behavior of bamboo batteries was considered better in terms of livestock welfare because they were able to better prevent heat stress. In terms of production performance, wire batteries exhibited higher Hen Day Production (HDP) and were better at preventing disease than bamboo batteries. However, bamboo batteries had a higher egg weight due to the frequency of feeding chickens being higher than wire batteries. Improved sanitation management is necessary for batteries made from bamboo because they tend to more easily become a medium for the growth of germs, lice, and fungi, which can cause disease and result in decreased production performance.

Microbial agents for the control of ticks Rhipicephalus microplus.

Ticks are ectoparasites responsible for the transmission of various pathogens to vertebrates. They represent one of the major threats to livestock production worldwide due to their impact on the health, production and welfare of livestock destined for human consumption. The development of resistance to the main families of ixodicides used for their control has led to the search for new alternatives, where microbial control is an option. The use of microbial control agents against the tick Rhipicephalus microplus is reviewed in this paper. Bacteria such as Bacillus thuringiensis, Serratia marcescens and Staphylococcus spp. the nematodes Steinernema spp. and Heterorhabditis spp. as well as the fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria bassiana are the most studied organisms for use as biological control agents against ticks. Laboratory, stable and field trials with free-living and parasitised ticks have shown that microbial agents can control both susceptible and ixodicide-resistant tick populations. However, multidisciplinary studies using novel tools like genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics should be carried out to understand the virulence factors which microbial agents use to induce pathogenesis and virulence in ticks. In addition, applied research will be carried out with the aim of improving techniques for large-scale application, as well as the improvement of cultivation, storage, formulation and application methods.

Pain Relief Interventions in Australian Livestock Husbandry: A Review of Animal Welfare and Pain Duration.

In veterinary medicine and livestock production, ensuring good animal husbandry is vital for the physical and emotional wellbeing of animals under our care. Pain poses challenges for assessment and mitigation, especially in species unable to express pain overtly. This review examines current pain mitigation interventions in routine husbandry, focuses on the duration of pain after procedures and implications for animal welfare. Pain behaviours have been observed for days or weeks after regular husbandry procedures, and many studies have noted pain-related behaviour persisting until study finalisation, suggesting potential undocumented pain beyond study completion. Current products registered in Australia for pain mitigation in livestock primarily target immediate pain associated with procedures. The future of pain relief in livestock demands longer-acting solutions to address post-procedural pain adequately. Providing pain relief for at least 72 h post surgery is recommended, but current products require retreatment intervals to achieve this, posing practical challenges, especially in livestock. Methods of pain relief provision, such as voluntary consumption of medicated feed, transdermal medication delivery and long-acting formulations offer potential solutions for prolonged pain relief, with research ongoing in these areas. There is a need for further research and development of longer-acting pain relief to ensure optimal welfare of livestock.

Silvopastures Benefits, Past Efforts, Challenges, and Future Prospects in the United States

The global human population is projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, increasing the demand for food and fiber, but also raising concerns about the environmental impact of agricultural production scaled to meet their needs. Silvopastures—integrated tree–forage–livestock systems—have emerged as a viable practice to meet the required productivity and environmental stewardship outcomes. This review consolidates the extensive research on silvopasture practices in the United States and highlights the benefits of these systems. A comprehensive literature search across databases such as ScienceDirect and Google Scholar revealed 152 publications on silvopastures in the United States since 2000, indicating growing interest. These studies have primarily focused on the impacts of silvopastures on livestock welfare and productivity, forage production and composition, soil health and nutrient dynamics, and socio-economic factors. Geographical distribution analysis indicated that the research is more focused in the Southeastern United States, with Florida, Virginia, Alabama, Missouri, and Arkansas being the top five contributing states. The review also offers insights into the tree and forage species used across these states and discusses the challenges to silvopasture adoption among producers and land managers while exploring future prospects. This review may be used as a resource for understanding the multifaceted dimensions of silvopasture adoption, providing insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners alike.

Experimental evidence that dung beetles benefit from reduced ivermectin in targeted treatment of livestock parasites

Anthelmintic residues in livestock dung can adversely affect beneficial organisms. Targeted selective treatment (TST) of a reduced proportion of livestock with anthelmintics can slow resistance development in gastrointestinal nematodes by providing residue-free dung which could also benefit non-target organisms. We tested effects of TST on survival and reproduction of the dung beetle Onthophagus taurus (Scarabaeidae) in a factorial glasshouse experiment (Experimental treatments: five TST levels, 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00 x four ivermectin concentrations, 125, 250, 375, 500 ppb). Each mesocosm comprised a 60 L bin containing sand, four dung pats and six pairs of adult beetles (F0 generation). No effects of TST level and ivermectin concentration on mortality of F0 adults after one week were observed. F0 adult brood ball production was affected by TST level, particularly at high ivermectin concentrations. Brood ball production increased as more untreated pats became available, with greater increases at higher ivermectin concentrations. We tested for evidence of a reported attraction of dung beetles to ivermectin-treated dung using a novel glitter-marker to trace the origin of dung used in brood balls. Where mesocosms contained both dung types, the proportion of brood balls created from untreated dung showed no statistical difference from the null expectation based on untreated dung availability in the mesocosm. Emergence of F1 adults was affected by the increase in TST, with this effect dependent on concentration. Treatments with concentrations of 250–500 ppb had the lowest emergence rates (ca. 5–20 % in mesocosms where all dung pats were treated) but emergence rates increased with TST level, reaching 68–88 % emergence where no dung pats were treated with ivermectin. Ivermectin-induced mortality occurred predominantly at egg and first instar stages. TST can provide refuges for dung beetles offering a strategy for livestock producers to maintain livestock welfare whilst benefiting from ecosystem services provided by important insects.

PENGENALAN MANAJEMEN PEMELIHARAAN SAPI PERAH BERDASARKAN PEDOMAN GOOD DAIRY FARMING PRACTICE (GDFP) DI DESA WESALO, KABUPATEN KOLAKA TIMUR

Dairy cows as milk-producing livestock will show their best performance if their maintenance management is carried out well. Good dairy cattle management can be done by referring to Good Dairy Farming Practice (GDFP). This service activity was carried out to increase the knowledge and skills of dairy farmers in Wesalo Village, Lalolae Village, East Kolaka Regency. The stages of this activity include: 1). activity preparation; 2. technical guidance on management of dairy cattle maintenance according to GDPP; 3. monitoring and evaluating activities. This activity is very beneficial for breeders in Wesalo Village because the breeders are new to and starting to raise dairy cattle. During the activity, the breeders were very active in discussing and enthusiastically listening to the speakers' presentations. Breeders are also very enthusiastic and focused on paying attention to the technical guidance provided during direct visits to the breeder's pen. Implementation of GDFP can be carried out by paying attention to aspects: 1). breeding and reproduction; 2). provision of feed and drinking water; 3). management; 4). cages and equipment; 5). livestock health and welfare. This community service activity closed with monitoring and evaluation to determine the level of understanding and help farmers who experience difficulties in raising dairy cattle. This activity can increase the knowledge and skills of farmers so they can maintain and develop dairy cows.

Welfare of Livestock During Transportation and Market Transactions: Implications for Meat Quality in Ethiopia

Welfare of Livestock During Transportation and Market Transactions: Implications for Meat Quality in Ethiopia

Analysis of substantiated welfare investigations in extensive farming systems in Victoria, Australia.

Substantiated incidents of poor welfare affecting cattle, sheep and goats (livestock) in non-dairy extensive farming systems continue to occur. This study sought to describe the common causes of poor welfare of livestock and the associated circumstances, by analysing 39 years of de-identified, livestock welfare investigation records. There were a total of 2179 alleged offenders (AOff), defined as individual/s that had an incident of poor welfare affecting livestock on at least one occasion. Approximately 27% of AOff were found to have poor welfare on more than one occasion. The majority of livestock welfare incidents were associated with neglect, more specifically, inadequate nutrition (56%), treatment (65%) and management/husbandry (83%). Records of malicious acts were rare (1%). In the analysis, cases were allocated to 10 animal welfare severity categories (AWSC) based on the number of incidents and visits, whether the AOff reoffended, or if the incident was ongoing and whether the welfare issue was likely to affect the whole herd. A significantly higher proportion of cases in the most severe AWSC had a failure to shear, mark, dip/drench, draft and wean/cull, were overstocked or were not providing proper and sufficient feed, compared to the least severe AWSC (P ≤ 0.05). Reoffending was significantly more likely when animals were found to be injured/unwell, recumbent, stuck in mud/yard/pen or in poor body condition, or when there was a failure to wean/cull, mark, dip/drench and draft. Some of the issues identified here may be risk factors more commonly identified on farms with poor livestock welfare.

Chromatin profiling and state predictions reveal insights into epigenetic regulation during early porcine development

BackgroundGiven their physiological similarities to humans, pigs are increasingly used as model organisms in human-oriented biomedical studies. Additionally, their value to animal agriculture across the globe has led to the development of numerous studies to investigate how to improve livestock welfare and production efficiency. As such, pigs are uniquely poised as compelling models that can yield findings with potential implications in both human and animal contexts. Despite this, many gaps remain in our knowledge about the foundational mechanisms that govern gene expression in swine across different developmental stages, particularly in early development. To address some of these gaps, we profiled the histone marks H3K4me3, H3K27ac, and H3K27me3 and the SWI/SNF central ATPase BRG1 in two porcine cell lines representing discrete early developmental time points and used the resulting information to construct predicted chromatin state maps for these cells. We combined this approach with analysis of publicly available RNA-seq data to examine the relationship between epigenetic status and gene expression in these cell types.ResultsIn porcine fetal fibroblast (PFF) and trophectoderm cells (PTr2), we saw expected patterns of enrichment for each of the profiled epigenetic features relative to specific genomic regions. H3K4me3 was primarily enriched at and around global gene promoters, H3K27ac was enriched in promoter and intergenic regions, H3K27me3 had broad stretches of enrichment across the genome and narrower enrichment patterns in and around the promoter regions of some genes, and BRG1 primarily had detectable enrichment at and around promoter regions and in intergenic stretches, with many instances of H3K27ac co-enrichment. We used this information to perform genome-wide chromatin state predictions for 10 different states using ChromHMM. Using the predicted chromatin state maps, we identified a subset of genomic regions marked by broad H3K4me3 enrichment, and annotation of these regions revealed that they were highly associated with essential developmental processes and consisted largely of expressed genes. We then compared the identities of the genes marked by these regions to genes identified as cell-type-specific using transcriptome data and saw that a subset of broad H3K4me3-marked genes was also specifically expressed in either PFF or PTr2 cells.ConclusionsThese findings enhance our understanding of the epigenetic landscape present in early swine development and provide insight into how variabilities in chromatin state are linked to cell identity. Furthermore, this data captures foundational epigenetic details in two valuable porcine cell lines and contributes to the growing body of knowledge surrounding the epigenetic landscape in this species.

Sound identification of abnormal pig vocalizations: Enhancing livestock welfare monitoring on smart farms

In smart agriculture, analyzing animal vocalizations provides a non-invasive, continuous monitoring approach that directly correlates with specific animal conditions, enhancing welfare. Pig vocalizations, in particular, are critical for managing farm events and improving animal welfare. Yet, traditional methods, mainly involving Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), focus on local audio features and complex combinations, struggling with varying audio lengths and high computational costs.Addressing these issues, this study introduces a novel approach with an Audio Spectrogram Transformer (AST), designed to detect abnormal pig vocalizations. Our method involves a two-stage process: segmenting the audio to retain only valuable information, and classifying through an attention mechanism that analyzes both nuanced and global audio features. This technique significantly improves accuracy and efficiency in vocalization analysis.Tested on 7600 real-world audio samples, our method demonstrated a significant improvement, achieving an accuracy of 93 % and enhancing inference speed by 19 times compared to existing CNN-based techniques. Additionally, we conducted interpretability analysis and feature selection experiments to evaluate the efficacy of different feature combinations. These experiments verified that our attention-based approach not only simplifies the input features but also provides superior performance over traditional models. The findings of this study underscore the potential of AST in transforming livestock welfare monitoring by offering a more accurate, efficient, and scalable solution.