The representativeness of a semi-random sampling method for animal welfare assessments on mink farms
In this study we present a semi-random sampling method developed for the sampling of mink (Neovison vison) for on-farm welfare assessments according to the WelFur-Mink system. The only information required for implementation of this method is the number of cages in use in each shed on the farm. The representativeness of samples selected with this […]
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 […]
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, […]