A Framework to Assess the Impact of New Animal Management Technologies on Welfare: A Case Study of Virtual Fencing
To be ethically acceptable, new husbandry technologies and livestock management systems must maintain or improve animal welfare. To achieve this goal, the design and implementation of new technologies need to harness and complement the learning abilities of animals. Here, from literature on the cognitive activation theory of stress (CATS) we develop a framework to assess […]
Diet of the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) on former cattle grounds in a Tanzanian savanna
In otherwise nutrient-poor savannas, fertile vegetation patches are particularly attractive to ungulates because of the higher-quality food they provide. We investigated forage plants and diet of the common warthog (Phacochoerus africanus) on an abandoned cattle ranch in coastal Tanzania. The forage grasses of highest nutritional quality occurred in former paddock enclosures (bomas) where cattle had […]
The integration of human-animal relations into animal welfare monitoring schemes
There are increasing local and international pressures for farm animal welfare monitoring schemes. Housing of farm animals is a contentious issue for many, although the impact of the housing system may be overestimated by some. In contrast, the topic of stockmanship has received relatively little attention, even though research has shown that animal carers or […]
Detecting autocorrelation problems from GPS collar data in livestock studies
Uneven use of grasslands and savannas by livestock has a significant impact on ecosystem productivity, biodiversity, and function. In studies of livestock distribution, global positioning systems (GPS) collars are frequently used and the rapid rate of technological improvement has brought new opportunities to collect extremely large amounts of very accurate spatial information. However, these advances […]
WSPA and APSRI humane slaughter programme in China: STEPS
The adoption of slaughter and pre-slaughter techniques to improve animal welfare and meat quality and safety is dependent on providing appropriate information, application and enforcement as well as information ownership by local people. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and Beijing Chaoyang Anhua Animal Product Safety Research Institute (APSRI) have been running […]
Pine Needle Abortion in Cattle
Since the early 1900s livestock producers have had problems with pine needle abortion (PNA). Cattle often eat pine needles, and pregnant cattle that are allowed to eat pine needles will abort, resulting in dead or premature calves, retained placentas, and uterine infections. The problem is found throughout the western United States and Canada. Many PNAs […]
Interpretation of behavioural reactions of sheep towards fear-eliciting situations
The relationships between 27 behavioural variables, displayed by 206 sheep in three tests used to measure fear in sheep, were assessed using Principal Component Analysis. These animals were individually subjected to the same standardised fear-eliciting situations: isolation from conspecifics (I), a surprise effect (S) and the presence of a human (H). The first component (which […]
Perceptions of the importance of different welfare issues in livestock production
The opinions of seven respondent groups about the relative importance of different practices pertaining to the welfare of Australian beef cattle, sheep and goats were surveyed. Respondent groups comprised farmers, livestock transportation representatives, veterinarians, meat processors, animal welfare advocates, animal welfare scientists and government officers. The survey consisted of a web-based adaptive conjoint analysis questionnaire, […]
Electromagnetic induction of insensibility in animals: a review
The prevention of unnecessary suffering at slaughter is considered to be an imperative and, as such, the majority of animals slaughtered under industrial conditions are stunned prior to slaughter by mechanical, electrical or gas inhalation means. However, many Orthodox Jewish and Muslim communities do not accept pre-slaughter stunning. Those Jewish and Muslim communities that do […]