Changes in the welfare of mink (Neovison vison) with date of assessment in the winter and growth periods have limited effects on the overall WelFur categorisation
In this study we investigated the robustness of the WelFur welfare assessment system for farmed mink (Neovison vison) to date of assessment in the winter and growth assessment periods. The prevalence of occurrences of certain measurements was hypothesised to increase with date of assessment (too thin, fur-chewing and stereotypic behaviour in the winter period and […]
The reliability of welfare assessment according to the WelFur-protocol in the nursing period of mink (Neovison vison) is challenged by increasing welfare problems prior to weaning
The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the body condition of the mink dam, the frequency of dirty nests, frequency of injuries and diarrhoea change significantly with the day of assessment, post-partum, within the data collection period from parturition to weaning, influencing the scores of WelFur at criteria level, but not […]
Classification of animal welfare on mink farms differs between three annual production periods
According to the WelFur assessment protocol for mink, welfare is assessed via three one-day visits; one during each of the three main annual production phases. If one of these three assessments could provide a representative description of the welfare on a mink farm throughout the year, not only would much time and money be saved, […]