Animal Welfare Measures Research Articles

Detectability of multi-dimensional movement and behaviour in cattle using sensor data and machine learning algorithms: Study on a Charolais bull

The development of motion sensors for monitoring cattle behaviour has enabled farmers to predict the state of their cattle's welfare more efficiently. While most studies work with one dimensional output with disjunct behaviour categories, more accurate prediction can still be achieved by including complex movements and enriching the sensor algorithm to detect multi-dimensional movements, i.e., more than one movement occurring simultaneously. This paper presents such a machine-learning method for analysing overlapping independent movements. The output of the method consists of automatically recognized complex behaviour patterns that can be used for measuring animal welfare, predicting calving, or detecting early signs of diseases. This study combines automated motion sensors (i.e., halter and pedometer) for ruminants known as RumiWatch mounted on a Charolais fattening bull and camera observation. Fourteen types of complex movements were identified, i.e., defecating-urinating, eating, drinking, getting up, head movement, licking, lying down, lying, playing-aggression, rubbing, ruminating, sleeping, standing, and stepping. As multiple parallel binary classificators were used, the system was able to recognize parallel behavioural patterns with high fidelity. Two types of machine learning, i.e., Support Vector Classification (SVC) and RandomForest were used to recognize different general and non-general forms of movement. Results from these two supervised learning systems were compared. A continuous forty-eight hours of video were annotated to train the systems and validate their predictions. The success rate of both classifiers in recognizing special movements from both sensors or separately in different settings (i.e., window and padding) was examined. Although the two classifiers produced different results, the ideal settings showed that all forms of movement in the subject animal were successfully recognized with high accuracy. More studies using more individual animals and different ruminants would increase our knowledge on enhancing the system's performance and accuracy.

Effects of space allowance on behaviour during lairage, stress physiology, skin lesion scores and meat quality of market-weight pigs transported in an actively-ventilated vehicle in the summer

This study aimed at assessing the effects of space allowance on microclimate and pig stress during transportation in a mechanically-ventilated vehicle. On each journey (6), 114 pigs were randomly assigned to different space allowances (0.46, 0.49 or 0.59 m2/pig) tested in the near-front, middle and near-rear compartments and on the top, middle and bottom decks. In each compartment, ambient conditions (e.g., T°C and RH%) were monitored. Behaviour was recorded during lairage. A total of 162 pigs were selected for the analysis of blood hematocrit proportion and lactate, and creatine kinase (CK) concentrations, and the evaluation of meat quality in the loin and ham muscles. The bottom deck was more humid before and during transport (P ≤ 0.05) and pigs from this location stood and drank more in lairage (P < 0.001). Pigs transported on the top deck had greater blood lactate and CK concentrations (P < 0.05) than those transported on the bottom deck, and when transported at 0.49 m2/pig produced paler loins (P < 0.05) than those transported at 0.46 m2/pig. The within-trailer location had a greater impact on the microclimate, collected animal welfare measures, and meat quality of pigs transported in an actively ventilated trailer than space allowance.

Animal protection in Spain: historical evolution and consequences of the entry into force of Law 2/2023, of March 13, on the Protection, Welfare and Keeping of Companion Animals and other animal welfare measures

En los últimos años el maltrato contra los animales se ha incrementado notablemente lo que ha motivado al legislador para regular este problema social de una manera distinta a cómo se venía haciendo en el pasado. La presente investigación pretende exponer la tradición normativa española acerca de estos actos de crueldad y que ha permitido establecer una ley pionera que permita proteger eficazmente a los animales frente a sus agresores. A lo largo del artículo, el lector podrá observar las diferentes teorías que ha ido siguiendo el legislador y como se han ido positivizando en el ordenamiento jurídico español. Finalmente, la presente investigación se propone concretar el bien jurídico protegido sobre el que se asientan las distintas normas y, al mismo tiempo un estudio del tipo penal y sus continuas modificaciones hasta la actualidad. Es importante destacar, y esa ha sido la intención de esta investigación, la importancia que ha tenido la reciente normativa en el ordenamiento jurídico español y que ha servido de ejemplo para otros países dónde los derechos de los animales aún no han sido tratados de forma notable dejando a estos seres vivos desprotegidos frente a la barbarie y las conductas incívicas de los seres humanos cuándo nuestra responsabilidad debería ser velar y proteger el mundo en el que vivimos.

Robustness to Leg Loss in Opiliones: A Review and Framework Considerations for Future Research.

Animals have evolved behavioral and morphological traits that allow them to respond to environmental challenges. However, these traits may have long-term consequences that could impact an animal's performance, fitness, and welfare. Several species in a group of the arachnid order of Opiliones release their legs voluntarily to escape predators. These animals use their legs for locomotion, sensation, and reproduction. Here, we first compile data across species in the suborder Eupnoi, showing that more than half of individuals are found missing legs. Then, we review recent work on the ultimate and proximate implications of leg loss in Opiliones. Field and laboratory experiments showed that leg loss (a) did not affect their survival or mating success and (b) compromised the kinematics and energetics of locomotion, but individuals recovered velocity and acceleration quickly. These findings demonstrate that these animals display robustness, that is, the ability to withstand and overcome the potential consequences of bodily damage. This may explain why leg loss is so prevalent in Opiliones. Additionally, we encourage researchers to consider expanding their hypotheses beyond traditional adaptationist and ableist lenses and incorporate a comprehensive examination of animal welfare when studying animals' responses to bodily damage. Finally, we highlight avenues for future research in Opiliones, namely assessing how individuals move in three-dimensional environments, the neural plasticity aiding recovery post-leg loss, applications for bio-inspired design, and evidence-based animal welfare measures.

Spatiotemporal Patterns and Risk Factors for Newcastle Disease Virus among Chickens in a Tanzania Live Bird Market

Village poultry plays a vital role in providing essential nutrition and income for rural communities in Africa. In this context, poultry are often traded through live bird markets (LBMs), which serve as central trading hubs where producers connect with traders and consumers, facilitating the flow of poultry products along the value chain. While they serve as important trading hubs, these markets create an environment where avian pathogens, like Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and avian influenza virus, can easily emerge and spread. Improving our understanding of the epidemiology of NDV in LBMs is important for assessing disease risks and identifying factors that contribute to its persistence. Local chickens at the Mawenzi LBM in Morogoro municipality were surveyed for NDV presence, its temporal and spatial distribution, and risk factors for NDV infection. Twenty-three percent of 659 local chickens sampled over a 1-year period were positive for NDV based on PCR. Increased odds of NDV infection were identified in chickens that had been in the market for 2 or more days prior to sampling and during the period extending from August through October. Four significant spatiotemporal clusters of NDV-positive chickens encompassing 13 villages were detected between August and October 2020, illustrating geographic hotspots of infection when NDV was most prevalent. Similar to the other LBMs, this market had enclosures with high densities of birds of mixed species, limited biosecurity, and the presence of birds with observable illness. Bird traders who source the chickens from the villages, described long transit times in mixed enclosures with limited sanitation practices and without consideration of sick birds or vaccination status prior to arriving at the LBM. This study highlights the need to invest in improvements to infrastructure and biosecurity for LBMs as well as training opportunities for increasing traders’ knowledge on hygiene and sanitation practices, animal welfare, and poultry biosecurity measures.

75 Deep Dive Into Animal Welfare Measurements in Swine and Their Implications

Abstract Historically, animals growing well were believed to be in a positive welfare state. Evidence shows that pigs will seek out enrichment using play and complex puzzle-solving, which is beyond the physical needs required for positive growth. Physiological and psychological indicators of welfare can now be used to address positive affect in swine. Further, early research may show that those animals living with enrichment may be less likely to fall ill and are better prepared to handle sudden life changes (such as transport). However, measuring animal pleasure successfully is difficult. Understanding ways to measure animal welfare using behavior and physiology can provide insight into validating positive affective states beyond historically used measurements such as average daily gain, reproductive performance, or cortisol. As opportunities to implement these measures grow in the future, understanding the appropriate use for each will be critical.

Developing a welfare assessment protocol for Australian lot-fed cattle

Lot feeding of cattle has gained momentum in recent years to improve efficiency in meeting market demands for high quality protein. Concurrently, societal concern for the welfare of animals raised in intensive farming systems has increased. Thus, the reporting of animal health and welfare measures is a key goal for the Australian cattle lot-fed industry. Although feedlots vary in location, climate, capacity, cattle genotype, and feeding programs, many welfare concerns are applicable across the industry. Despite this, no recognised standardised animal welfare assessment protocol exists for the Australian lot-fed industry. This study aimed to identify relevant measures to develop an assessment protocol, by identifying key welfare issues and their relevant measures, considering the validity, reliability, and practicality of each when applied to the feedlot context. An advisory model was derived after reviewing the relevant literature and five international protocols for the assessment of beef cattle (Welfare Quality®, AssureWel, US Beef Quality Assurance assessment tool, Canadian Feedlot Animal Care Assessment program, and an Australian Live Export industry protocol), followed by stakeholder consultation. A total of 109 measures were evaluated, with 99 environmental-, management-, resource- and animal-based measures being proposed. Piloting of the protocol on commercial feedlots will enable further refinement and validation, to provide an evidence-based, practical protocol to facilitate standardised monitoring of cattle welfare. Such a protocol could promote continued advances in animal welfare at a feedlot level and support a sustainable industry by addressing societal concerns.

Why do we always care about the welfare of laboratory animals?

Why do we always care about the welfare of laboratory animals? Seasoned experts from the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Medical Innovation Foundation (K-MEDI hub) in South Korea share their research perspectives on the welfare of laboratory animals, including the issue of veterinary care. Awareness of animal ethics is changing and rising worldwide, and the concept of animal welfare importance is spreading rapidly. Generally, animal welfare involves not hurting, harassing or recklessly killing animals. In addition, animal welfare involves inducing positive changes in humans and animals, both physically and emotionally. Based on the research and discussion of Ruth Harrison’s claim in 1965, Britain began establishing various animal welfare measures. Subsequently, public opinion on animal welfare has spread widely across Europe.

A method for calculating the external costs of farm animal welfare based on the Welfare Quality® Protocol

The production of food from animals poses societal concern about the welfare of these animals in Western countries and increasingly also in economically developing countries. Animals and people may experience disutility from animal suffering, which can be seen as an external cost that is not (fully) included in the cost of production. Thus, consumers will consume too much of the good from an aggregate utilitarian perspective. A potential way to solve this issue is by including these external costs in the production costs. The aim of this paper was to provide a method that can be used to estimate the external costs of animal welfare (AW) of animals kept at farm level. The external costs were calculated by means of a cost function. This cost function shows the relationship between the AW score and costs of AW measures at farm level. The AW scores were calculated from principle scores of the Welfare Quality® Protocol. The method was applied to three case studies, namely dairy cattle production in Germany, pig production in the Netherlands, and broiler production in the Netherlands. The results indicate that the external costs of AW of dairy cattle systems ranged from 0.02 to 0.10 euro/kg milk, those of pig production systems from 1.00 to 1.36 euro/kg live weight and those of broiler production systems from 3.67 to 4.52 euro/kg live weight. The empirical application showed that the method was effective in estimating external animal costs. The insights obtained from the application of our method can support decision making in the development and adoption of more AW friendly production systems.

Assessing Livestock Production Practices on Small-Scale Multi-Species Farms Located on Floreana Island, Galápagos Islands

Globally to date, established international standards for animal welfare, a priority of sustainable agriculture, have primarily focused on large-scale producers. However, across Latin America, including in Ecuador's Galápagos Islands, smallholder farms play a critical role in food safety and security. We assessed five basic animal welfare measures (feed and water access, shelter availability and housing systems, animal health management, animal behavior, and timely euthanasia) for poultry, pigs, and cattle on Floreana Island, Galápagos. Utilizing assessment standards from multiple US sources and international standards, we developed a questionnaire and used it to conduct in-depth interviews during 4-5 July 2022 with eight participating producers, representing 75% of animal agriculture on Floreana. While we identified opportunities to enhance competencies in animal health management and timely euthanasia, farms performed well in the other assessed measures. Future work should promote knowledge transfer and in-country capacity building in farm biosecurity, access to veterinary care, antimicrobial resistance surveillance, and euthanasia methods. Efforts to positively impact smallholder farm livelihoods in Galápagos-one of the most biodiverse and protected ecosystems on the planet-will sustainably support human health through the interconnected realms of animal health and welfare, wildlife and environmental health, and food safety and security.

Identifying areas of animal welfare concern in different production stages in Danish pig herds using the Danish Animal Welfare Index (DAWIN).

Animal welfare is of increasing public interest, and the pig industry in particular is subject to much attention. The aim of this study was to identify and compare areas of animal welfare concern for commercial pigs in four different production stages: (1) gestating sows and gilts; (2) lactating sows; (3) piglets; and (4) weaner-to-finisher pigs. One welfare assessment protocol was developed for each stage, comprising of between 20 and 29 animal welfare measures including resource-, management- and animal-based ones. Twenty-one Danish farms were visited once between January 2015 and February 2016 in a cross-sectional design. Experts (n = 26; advisors, scientists and animal welfare controllers) assessed the severity of the outcome measures. This was combined with the on-farm prevalence of each measure and the outcome was used to calculate areas of concern, defined as measures where the median of all farms fell below the value defined as 'acceptable welfare.' Between five and seven areas of concern were identified for each production stage. With the exception of carpal lesions in piglets, all areas of concern were resource- and management-based and mainly related to housing, with inadequate available space and the floor type in the resting area being overall concerns across all production stages. This means that animal-based measures were largely unaffected by perceived deficits in resource-based measures. Great variation existed for the majority of measures identified as areas of concern, demonstrating that achieving a high welfare score is possible in the Danish system.

Measuring Comfort Behaviours in Laying Hens Using Deep-Learning Tools.

Image analysis using machine learning (ML) algorithms could provide a measure of animal welfare by measuring comfort behaviours and undesired behaviours. Using a PLF technique based on images, the present study aimed to test a machine learning tool for measuring the number of hens on the ground and identifying the number of dust-bathing hens in an experimental aviary. In addition, two YOLO (You Only Look Once) models were compared. YOLOv4-tiny needed about 4.26 h to train for 6000 epochs, compared to about 23.2 h for the full models of YOLOv4. In validation, the performance of the two models in terms of precision, recall, harmonic mean of precision and recall, and mean average precision (mAP) did not differ, while the value of frame per second was lower in YOLOv4 compared to the tiny version (31.35 vs. 208.5). The mAP stands at about 94% for the classification of hens on the floor, while the classification of dust-bathing hens was poor (28.2% in the YOLOv4-tiny compared to 31.6% in YOLOv4). In conclusion, ML successfully identified laying hens on the floor, whereas other PLF tools must be tested for the classification of dust-bathing hens.

Vitality as a measure of animal welfare during purse seine pumping related crowding of Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scrombrus)

The impacts of wild capture fishing on animal welfare are poorly understood. During purse seine fishing for Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scrombrus), catches are crowded to high densities to facilitate pumping onboard. This study aimed to monitor fish welfare during crowding events in the Norwegian purse seine fishery, and to identify relevant drivers. We first correlated a suite of neuro-endocrine, physiological and physical stress responses (integrated into a single measure of welfare using multivariate analysis) to the behavioural vitality of individual mackerel in controlled crowding trials in aquaculture cages. Vitality was found to be a useful measure of welfare. We then assessed individual fish vitality onboard a commercial purse seiner. Catch welfare, measured using vitality, was observed to be negatively impacted during pumping related crowding. Larger catches and longer crowding exposure times resulted in greater negative impacts. Vitality was not significantly impacted by crowding density or dissolved oxygen concentrations inside the net, although methodological limitations limited accurate measurement of these parameters. Blood lactate levels correlated negatively with vitality, suggesting that high-intensity anaerobic locomotory activity was associated with the reduction in welfare. Based on these findings, catch welfare could be improved by targeting smaller schools to minimise crowding exposure times.

Antibiotic Resistance in the Finfish Aquaculture Industry: A Review.

Significant challenges to worldwide sustainable food production continue to arise from environmental change and consistent population growth. In order to meet increasing demand, fish production industries are encouraged to maintain high growth densities and to rely on antibiotic intervention throughout all stages of development. The inappropriate administering of antibiotics over time introduces selective pressure, allowing the survival of resistant bacterial strains through adaptive pathways involving transferable nucleotide sequences (i.e., plasmids). This is one of the essential mechanisms of antibiotic resistance development in food production systems. This review article focuses on the main international regulations and governing the administering of antibiotics in finfish husbandry and summarizes recent data regarding the distribution of bacterial resistance in the finfish aquaculture food production chain. The second part of this review examines promising alternative approaches to finfish production, sustainable farming techniques, and vaccination that circumvents excessive antibiotic use, including new animal welfare measures. Then, we reflect on recent adaptations to increasingly interdisciplinary perspectives in the field and their greater alignment with the One Health initiative.

Adoption of Animal Welfare Practices by Selected Gaushalas (Cow-Shelters) in the State of Karnataka, India

Gaushalas serve a crucial role in protecting our nation's livestock wealth. Its primary function is to provide shelter for cows, mainly for non-lactating, frail, unproductive, and stray cattle. Forty gaushalas were chosen at random from the eighty registered gaushalas in the state of Karnataka for this study. On the basis of herd size, the forty selected gaushalas were categorized as small (12), medium (18), and large (10) gaushalas. Animal welfare is currently a global issue that is receiving increasing attention. With this in mind, the present study was conducted to determine the degree to which gaushalas have adopted animal welfare measures. Sixty percent of large sized gaushalas belonged to high adopter categories, fifty-six percent of medium sized gaushalas belonged to medium adopter categories, and fifty percent of small sized gaushalas belonged to low adopter categories in terms of adoption of overall animal welfare practices. However, it was also observed that a lack of funds, inadequate financial assistance from governments, inadequate fodder availability, inadequate access to technical services, inadequate infrastructure facilities and poor management were perceived as impediments to the adoption of animal welfare practices in gaushalas.

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.

Farm animal welfare: A survey of the opinion of farmers and consumers in Sardinia

Animal welfare in the European Union is strictly regulated and has the highest standards in the field. It is also present in the CAP in both the first and second pillars. In Sardinia, animal welfare has taken on greater importance since it was introduced via the Rural Development Plan (RDP) in 2005. The context in which the animal welfare programme was initiated was that of a rural setting that had never before followed such projects and to which even the word welfare aimed at animals was alien. The welfare plan was geared hygiene in milking and housing, and the fight against foot problems and stress for primiparous ewes during the first week of milking. After 15 years of implementing animal welfare support interventions from public funds, this work aimed to investigate the perception of animal welfare among both beneficiary farmers and citizen-consumers. The data were collected in a linked survey on both farmers and consumers who are involved in the profound social and economic implications for the Island. On the one hand, 98% of breeders consider animal welfare to be important for the health and productivity of their animals, even though 59% also claim to have changed little or nothing in their farm management following the introduction of RDP measures, partially because the animal welfare measures were already being practised. On the other hand, public respondents’ willingness to pay more when it comes to purchase decisions can be considered as interesting evidence of a possible collective understanding which deserves further investigation. The results highlight the fact that animal welfare is undoubtedly a well-known and topical issue which has gained widespread attention and a broad agreement on its relevance and priority. Nonetheless, a shared vision on the meaning of welfare is lacking, even within regional policies that appear to be strongly segmented.

Can we further reduce the time pregnant sows spend in gestation stalls?

There is growing societal pressure to eliminate close confinement of farm animals. However, under current EU legislation, sows can be kept in gestation stalls for up to 28 days post-service. Pregnant sows fight to establish a dominance hierarchy at mixing. This poses welfare and productivity concerns particularly if sows are mixed in early pregnancy when the pregnancy is less well established and they are still recovering from the demands of lactation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of day of mixing (PEN4D:4 days or PEN28D:28 days post-insemination) on measures of animal welfare (skin lesion and cortisol concentrations) collected at mixing, 3 and 7 days after and on body condition (back fat thickness), reproductive performance (pregnancy and farrowing rate) and litter size. Sows included in the study (n=144) were of mixed parity (parities 2-7) and they were all weaned 4 weeks after farrowing and moved from farrowing to the breeding area where they were placed into individual stalls. Once inseminated, sows were assigned according to parity order and genetics to one of the two experimental treatments (PEN4D and PEN28D) and they were maintained as a static group until 1 week before farrowing. The group size was 21, and sows were housed on solid concrete floor, with a slope to convey manure in a drain, and with a floor space allowance of 2.25 m2/head. One block of wood on chain and one chain were provided as enrichments. Feed was distributed manually, spreading it in a wide clean area of the pen floor and in the troughs in the individual stall.There were no treatment effects on salivary cortisol concentrations or on the number of fresh skin injuries. For the old scratches score, a significant effect of treatment was observed only at three days after mixing, where PEN28D sows had a higher anterior lesion score than PEN4D sows (P=0.005). Furthermore, there were no treatment effects on backfat thickness, reproductive performance or litter size. Results of this experiment indicate that mixing sows into groups early after insemination (within 4 days post AI) rather than 28 d after has no effect on reproductive and welfare indicators measured in the short term after mixing.

Assessing measures of animal welfare

There are many decision contexts in which we require accurate information on animal welfare, in ethics, management, and policy. Unfortunately, many of the methods currently used for estimating animal welfare in these contexts are subjective and unreliable, and thus unlikely to be accurate. In this paper, I look at how we might apply principled methods from animal welfare science to arrive at more accurate scores, which will then help us in making the best decisions for animals. I construct and apply a framework of desiderata for welfare measures, to assess the best of the currently available methods and argue that a combined use of both a whole-animal measure and a combination measurement framework for assessing welfare will give us the most accurate answers to guide our action.

Location, Location, Location! Evaluating Space Use of Captive Aquatic Species—A Case Study with Elasmobranchs

The space use of captive animals has been reliably used as a tool to measure animal welfare in recent years. However, most analyses of space use focus primarily on terrestrial animals, with very little emphasis placed on the space use of aquatic animals. By comparing the space use of these animals to their natural histories and what would be expected of them physiologically, a general assessment of their overall welfare can be obtained. Using the Zoomonitor program, this study investigated the space use of five elasmobranch species housed in a captive aquatic environment: a blacktip reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), a nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum), a smooth dogfish (Musteluscanis), a bonnethead shark (Sphyrna tiburo), and a blacknose shark (Carcharhinus acronotus). The exhibit was delineated into five different zones: three represented the animal locations along the X/Y axis (‘Exhibit Use’), and two zones were related to the Z-axis (‘Depth Use’). The location of each individual on both the X/Y and Z axes was recorded during each observation. Heat maps generated from the Zoomonitor program were used in conjunction with the Spread of Participation Index (SPI) to interpret the data. It was found that while all the individuals used their given space differently, the Exhibit Use was relatively even overall (the SPI values ranged from 0.0378 to 0.367), while the Depth Use was more uneven (the SPI ranged from 0.679 to 0.922). These results mostly reflected what would be expected based on the species’ natural histories. However, for the smooth dogfish, the observed Exhibit Use and activity patterns revealed a mismatch between the anticipated and the actual results, leading to further interventions. As demonstrated here, space use results can be utilized to make positive changes to husbandry routines and enclosure designs for aquatic individuals; they are thus an important additional welfare measure to consider for aquatic species.