Animal Welfare And Behaviour: From Science To Solution
Programme - An International Two Day Conference Held At Novotel, Hamilton, New Zealand 27th - 28th June 2002
Table of Contents
The Ron Kilgour Memorial Lecture
Introduction
The primary purpose of this conference is to show how scientific investigations can and have advanced farm animal welfare, understanding of the behaviour of farm and wild animals, and humane management methods for wildlife. An additional purpose is to highlight some of the benefits of the Operational Research Funds made available by MAF (NZ) during the last eight years. Details of the Operational Research Funds can be found in the accompanying booklet.
We hope that you find the conference both enjoyable and rewarding.
The Organising Committee
Dr. A. C. David Bayvel (MAF)
Professor Des Fielden (Emeritus Professor, Massey University)
Dr. Lindsay Matthews (AgResearch)
Professor David Mellor (Massey University)
Keynote Speaker Biographies
Professor Marian Stamp Dawkins (University of Oxford, UK)
Marian Dawkins was born in Hereford, England. A former PhD student of Niko Tinbergen, Marian is currently Professor of Animal Behaviour, and Head of the Animal Behaviour Research Group (ABRG) at Oxford University.
A scientist of international renown, her research interests are varied, but include communication in birds and reef fish, as well as visual perception in chickens, and many current animal welfare issues.
In recognition of her contributions to, and expertise in the field of animal welfare, Marian has held a number of prestigious positions throughout her career, including membership of the Farm Animal Welfare Council (UK), Editor of the journals 'Animal Behaviour' and 'Animal Welfare', and Secretary General of the International Ethological Congress (IEC).
Marian Dawkins delivers the Ron Kilgour Memorial Lecture.
Dr. Andrea Gavinelli (European Commission, Brussels)
Since 1999, Andrea Gavinelli has been an administrator at the European Commission in charge of developing European legislation on animal welfare. Prior to his current position, he was in charge of the enforcement of animal welfare legislation and cattle identification at the Italian Ministry of Health.
Born in Novara, Italy, Andrea graduated as Veterinary surgeon at the University of Milan with a study on the behavior of dairy calves. Since 1998, he has been nominated vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for farming purposes, and has recently been asked to be part of the World Animal Health (OIE) ad-hoc working group on animal welfare.
Professor John McInerney (Exeter University, UK)
Originating from a small farm, graduating in agricultural science and then becoming an economist during PhD studies in Iowa, John McInerney has finally made it to Emeritus Professor of Agricultural Policy at the University of Exeter.
His research has covered virtually all areas of agricultural economics- farm management, food industries, developing countries, environmental economics, agricultural policy, livestock health and animal welfare- and he serves on a number of advisory bodies for the UK government. Of these, the major ones currently are the Farm Animal Welfare Council, the Independent Scientific Group on Cattle TB, the Organic Food Standards board and, the Sustainable Livestock Production Programme
Dr. Al Schaefer (University of Alberta, Canada)
Al Schaefer was born in Red Deer Alberta. He attended the University of Alberta, and then the University of British Columbia, where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy in 1984. In 1984-85 he was awarded an NSERC Post Doctoral Fellowship and studied with the Growth Physiology Group at Ruakura, New Zealand. On returning to Canada in 1985 he joined the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada staff at the Lacombe Research Station.
Research interests include growth physiology and the impact of stress on animal growth, meat quality and welfare. In particular, Dr. Schaefer is interested in the study of handling and transport stress and nutritional therapy methodology for treating such stress. Dr. Schaefer has also investigated the use of non-invasive stress detection methods such as infrared thermography for use in domestic animals.
Professor David Mellor (Massey University, NZ)
David Mellor graduated with a B.Sc. (Hons) from New England University, Australia, in 1966 and with a Ph.D. from Edinburgh University, Scotland, in 1969. During 10 years in the Veterinary Science Faculty at Massey University, he investigated the pathophysiological causes of perinatal mortality and poor performance in lambs, and the assessment and alleviation of husbandry distress in sheep.
In 1998 he was appointed to the position of Distinguished Scientist in the Institute of Food, Nutrition and Human Health at Massey University, where he is also Director of the Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre. In November 1999, the Minister of Agriculture appointed him as Chairman of the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee in New Zealand; and he was also awarded a New Zealand Science and Technology Silver Medal for "Championing the impact of science and bioethics on the welfare of animals".
Dr. Lindsay Matthews (AgResearch, NZ)
Lindsay Matthews obtained his D.Phil from University of Waikato in 1983. Following this, he was awarded a prestigious Alexander von Humbolt Fellowship to develop innovative techniques to measure the behavioural requirements of livestock. In 1989 he was appointed to MAF Technology (now AgResearch) as a Behaviour/Animal Welfare scientist to develop and lead the first substantial research programme in Animal Welfare research in New Zealand.
Dr Matthews has served on the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee, was responsible for establishing the national Animal Behaviour and Welfare consultative Committee, is a long standing member of several scientific societies including Council member and Regional Secretary for the International Society for Applied Ethology, and has a strong international reputation in the area of behaviour/welfare research.
Mr. Bruce Warburton (Landcare Research, NZ)
Bruce Warburton is a wildlife biologist and team leader with Landcare Research based at Lincoln, Christchurch. Over the past 25 years, he has focused his research on possums and wallabies, completing projects on their ecology, control technology, and population assessment. He has had a long and keen interest in traps which led to an eight year involvement on an international committee developing ISO standards for them. He is a current member of NAWAC contributing with his experience in conservation and pest management.
Dr. Neville Gregory (SARDI, Australia)
Neville Gregory has had 29 years experience as a research scientist, and his speciality areas are animal welfare, animal physiology and meat science. He held the chair in Animal Welfare Science in the Veterinary Faculty at Massey University for five years, and is now a Research Scientist with SARDI in South Australia.
Professor Paul Hemsworth (University of Melbourne, Australia)
Paul Hemsworth graduated B Agr Sc (Hon) from the University of Melbourne in 1973, and obtained his PhD there in 1978. He is currently a professorial fellow at the Institute of Land and Food Resources, University of Melbourne, and is also Director of the Animal Welfare Centre (AWC), a joint academic/government collaboration.
In an extensive research career spanning 25 years, he has predominantly focused on two areas: The effects of the social and physical environment on the behaviour and welfare of farm animals, and the human-animal relationship in animal production. He is internationally recognised in this latter field, and in 1996 received the Animal Welfare Research Award from the British RSPCA and the British Society of Animal Science, for his outstanding contributions.
Dr. David Wells (AgResearch, NZ)
David Wells leads AgResearch's animal cloning programme based at the Ruakura Research Centre in Hamilton. His group were the second in the world to clone mammals from cultured cells. AgResearch is at the international forefront in cattle cloning and Dr. Wells' group aim to gain greater scientific understanding as to how it is biologically possible to clone adult animals. This will ultimately improve cloning efficiencies leading to greater utility and acceptability of the technology.
Associate Professor Kevin Stafford (Massey University, NZ)
Kevin Stafford is an Associate Professor in the Institute of Veterinary Animal and Biomedical Sciences at Massey University. He is a farm animal veterinarian with a special interest in animal behaviour and welfare.
Graduating from the Veterinary College in Dublin in 1976, he was awarded a PhD by the National University of Ireland in 1988. He arrived in New Zealand in 1990 and began teaching animal behaviour and welfare almost immediately. He is currently a member of the board of ANZCCART in New Zealand and is also a member of his local SPCA committee.
Ron Kilgour: An Overview
Ron was regarded internationally as one of the pioneers of the study of farm animal behaviour. He was also the first New Zealand scientist to alert researchers and regulatory authorities to the importance of having verifiably high standards of animal welfare for the sustainability of New Zealand's livestock production systems. His foresight in this area was a key factor in establishing New Zealand's leadership in animal behaviour and welfare research, and in gaining international recognition for this research and the humaneness of New Zealand farming practices. Following his untimely death in a car accident in 1988, a Trust was set up with the aim of supporting activities that would be consistent with Ron's vision for the promotion of animal behaviour and welfare research, and its application. The Ron Kilgour Memorial Lecture, given by Professor Marian Dawkins of Oxford University, continues the series of state-of-the-art addresses by leaders in the Behaviour/Welfare fields. In addition to the memorial lecture, the Trust also supports student scholarships.
Lindsay Matthews is currently Chair of the Ron Kilgour Memorial Trust.
The Ron Kilgour Memorial Lecture - What Animals Want: The Assessment Of Welfare From The Animal’s Point Of View
Marian Stamp Dawkins, Animal Behaviour Research Group, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK, email: marian.dawkins@zoo.ox.ac.uk
Ron Kilgour’s 1976 paper The contributions of psychology to a knowledge of farm animal behaviour (Appl. Anim.Ethol., 2:197- 205 (1976)) made a seminal contribution to the idea that the ‘animal’s point of view’ should be an important component of the assessment of their welfare. Since then, we have seen a whole generation of new approaches to welfare assessment that use this approach, from preference testing and operant conditioning to the application of consumer demand theory. Now, however, we need to take the study of what animal’s want into its next phase and in two new directions:
- Establishing the relationship of the animal’s point of view to other measures of welfare, particularly health and other non-invasive measures. A study of shell quality, behaviour, faecal corticosteroids and choice in laying hens will be used to illustrate the complexities of these relationships and the importance of integrating different measures of welfare, not just relying on one.
- Developing new methods that allow us to assess what animals want on a large scale, for example, on commercial farms. For laboratory and even zoo animals, the step from small scale academic investigation to commercial application can be accomplished without great difficulty but for large scale commercial farming operations there are at least three serious obstacles:
- It is often logistically difficult or impossible to present animals with choices that realistically represent commercially available options.
- The testing and handling of the animals, if not invasive, is often intrusive and may give a distorted idea of animal preferences.
- The differences in conditions experienced by animals in an intensive small-scale experiment in a laboratory and those on a large commercial farm may have a profound effect on what the animals subsequently want.
What are needed, therefore, are methods for finding out what animals want that can be easily integrated with other measures of welfare, can be used easily and inexpensively on a commercial scale and at the same time do not impose additional stresses on the animals by taking them out of their familiar setting or handling them to measure their responses. I call these ‘in situ habitat preference’ measures and will describe a number of these that have already been used in commercial settings and several more that are in process of development.
Abstracts
Animal Welfare: Past, Present, and Future: A European Perspective
Andrea Gavinelli, European Commission, Directorate General Health and Consumer Protection, Unit E2: Animal Health and Welfare, Zootechnics, France
Since the sixties in Europe, the concept of animal welfare has been closely associated with the prevention of cruelty to animals rather than with the promotion of the well being of animals. Thus, the first European legislation was focussed on preventing and punishing acts of outright cruelty and neglect. Gradually, it was realised that the well being of a farm animal was not necessarily linked to its productivity.
Since then, we have observed an ever-growing consumer interest in the way farm animals are kept, transported and slaughtered. This has been accompanied by a multiplication in citizens’ concerns regarding animal welfare.
A key element in EU policies for animal welfare is represented by The Protocol on Animal Welfare that has been annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty of the European Union in 1999. It obliges the European Institutions, as Member States of the Union, to fully consider animal welfare in the drafting and implementation of community legislation in several fields from agriculture to scientific experiments.
The general aim is to ensure that animals do not have to endure avoidable pain or suffering, and obliges the owner/keeper of animals to respect minimum welfare requirements. Furthermore, the adoption of the Protocol implies the concept of some kind of ‘animal welfare impact assessment’ from the different institutions involved in legislative matters. The protocol also defines the limits of EU competence to legislate. Cruelty against animals, mistreatment, the use of animals in competitions, shows, cultural or sporting events are examples of matters that remain under the sole responsibility of the national governments.
Research shows that animals that are well treated and able to behave naturally are healthier than animals treated badly. For these reasons, in the context of the Commission White Paper on Food Safety adopted in 2000, it is recognised that animal welfare questions need to be fully integrated into food policy, and today the scientific issues on the way animals are farmed, transported and slaughtered belong to the tasks of the European Food Safety Authority which will be fully operative in the next few months. In the meantime, research in Europe has extended more and more towards the link between various animal welfare factors and the quality of products.
In developing animal welfare legislation, several factors are involved. These are essential in developing mandatory standards for the keeping of animals, in which not only welfare, but also animal health and environment protection have to be considered, as it is now in the EU legislation. In particular, the Commission is taking into account several elements such as: the opinions given by the Scientific Committee on Animal Welfare, the experience of the Member States in relation to the enforcement of the different legislative acts, the reports of inspections performed by the Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office, and information officially provided by animal welfare organisations.
On the other hand, competent authorities of the Member States are responsible for: transposition of European directives in national legislation and the day-to-day enforcement of Community rules through their national legislation and control activities.
For several years the Community has been committed to highlighting the importance of animal welfare on the International scene. In future, Member States of the Union will press the Commission more and more to work for it. This should be done both on purely ethical grounds and in recognition of the higher costs which these standards entail for producers and consumers in the EU. An obstacle to higher international standards is the absence of an appropriate body open to all members of the WTO, where information and experiences could be exchanged on animal welfare. This should change with the proposal of the OIE (World Animal Health Organisation) in Paris, to hold a five-year work programme that includes animal welfare questions. The Commission participated in the ad hoc group that investigated how to proceed with the issue in May 2002. This is the first time that such a broad-based international forum such as the OIE has decided to address these issues. The Commission strongly supports this initiative and intends to continue its active participation in this future reflection.
Animal Welfare: Ethics, Economics And Productivity
John McInerney, University of Exeter, UK, email: J.P.McInerney@ex.ac.uk
Ethics is about what people think; productivity relates to what useful output animals can provide; while economics is the framework within which these human and technical values get sorted out in food production and consumption. This paper offers a deliberately non-specialist overview of these issues as they relate to farm animal welfare, in an attempt to show a social science approach to what is otherwise regarded as a matter predominantly of animal science. It discusses how ethical positions concerning animal welfare link to consumer preferences, which are the driving force of economic activity, and suggests that in this context science may be informative, but not necessarily influential in determining how livestock production methods are determined. The essential conflict in livestock farming between human benefit and the animals’ wellbeing is analysed using a simple model reflecting the choices associated with different preference patterns in society. The simplistic argument that high welfare standards will raise food prices is shown to be technically correct, but the likely magnitudes are very minor. In relation to trade in livestock products, whether in domestic or international markets, the issue of animal welfare standards has ultimately to be considered in the context of satisfying consumer preferences; it should not be overly confused by emphasis on comparative costs or agricultural protection.
Crush Test, Docility Test, Flight Speed Test, Human Approach Test: Consistent Or Specific Situations For Assessing Beef Cattle Reaction To Handling?
Xavier Boivin, L. Grignard, J. P. Garel, P. Trillat and P. Le Neindre, INRA, URH-ACS, INRA de Theix, F-63122 St-Genés Champanelle, France, email: xavier@clermont.inra.fr
Beef cattle’s’ reaction to handling has been assessed using several procedures. For some tests, animals are observed when restrained in a crush, whereas other tests examine animals that are free to move. This paper analyses the relationships between four different tests. Forty-eight Limousin and Salers suckling calves were used. Every two weeks from 5 months of age, handling tests were performed on the calves in a 4x4 Latin Square design: 1- DOCILITY SCORE measured the animal's acceptance of restraint in the corner of a 5x5m pen (Le Neindre et al., 1995); 2- FLIGHT SPEED measured the time to travel 1.7m on exit from a crush (Burrow et al., 1988); 3- CRUSH TEST, where the animals’ reactions were measured during three stages, replicated twice: 5 min alone, 1 min with a motionless human facing the animal at 1m, and 1 min with a human touching the animal (Grignard et al., 2001); 4- CORRIDOR TEST (10 x 2 m solid walls) with 2 min alone, 3 min with a motionless human, and 1 min with a human touching the animal (Boivin et al., 1995).
General activities (locomotion, head and tail movements in the crush) were recorded during these two last tests. Data were rank-transformed. PCA analyses (SAS, 1986) were performed for each part of the tests to compute synthetic variables. Significant correlations were estimated between DOCILITY SCORE and FLIGHT SPEED (rs= +0.54, P<0.001), and between Docility score and the synthetic score of agitation in the crush test with the motionless human (AXEFH, rs= -0.55, P<0.001), but not when the animal was alone in the crush (AXEFS, rs= -0.14, P=0.33). Correlations between the FLIGHT SPEED and AXEFH (rs= -0.2, P=0.18) or AXEFS (rs= -0.05, P=0.72), or between the variables recorded in the corridor test and those from the other tests were not significant. Different behavioural dimensions appear to be present in a complex handling situation such as the docility test. During handling, the running ability of the animal may be related to FLIGHT SPEED, and the acceptance of the close presence of the human related to AXEFH.
The Physiological Status Of Dairy Calves At Birth
Tamara J.Diesch1, D.J.Mellor1, K.J.Stafford2 and R.N.Ward2, Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centers IFNHH1 and IVABS2, Massey University, New Zealand
The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of prenatal and intrapartum factors on the physiological status of calves at birth and on their subsequent survival and performance. The study was done in the Manawatu region, New Zealand, during Spring 2001. Multiparous cows were observed continuously and all dystocias were assisted. Within 30 minutes of birth the rectal temperature of each calf and a jugular blood sample were taken. Time to first stand on all four feet and birth weight were measured. The packed cell volume (PCV) and plasma concentrations of glucose, fructose and lactate were analysed as indices of prenatal and intrapartum status. On this basis, the physiological status of the calves was fairly uniform.
None of the calves had very low glucose levels. 1% and 4% of calves had, respectively, fructose levels and rectal temperatures below the mean minus two standard deviations. 5% of calves had lactate levels above the mean plus two standard deviations. Calves born after dystocia had significantly higher plasma lactate concentrations (6.3± 0.76 mmol/L), took significantly longer to stand (96± 24.53 min) and had lower packed cell volumes (38.5± 1.16 %) than normally born calves (lactate 4.7± 0.27 mmol/L; time to stand 53.18± 5.02 min; PCV 41.6± 0.49%). The higher lactate concentrations and longer time to stand in these calves indicate hypoxia at birth and reduced vigour. PCV was not significantly elevated in calves with significantly elevated lactate levels, suggesting placental insufficiency was not a major problem.
Physiological evaluation of newborn lambs at birth revealed four main causes of hypothermia and death: placental insufficiency, intrapartum hypoxaemia, inadequate heat production and starvation. The present study used the same parameters as were used in lambs, to assess the incidence of these four factors in newborn dairy calves.
Placental insufficiency was not observed. Some calves experienced intrapartum hypoxaemia and few calves showed low rectal temperatures. Comments on starvation cannot be made, as it is more likely to become a problem later during the immediate perinatal period.
The Effects Of Shade On Cow Body Temperature And Behaviour In Summer
Nicky Roberts1, A. Fisher1 and S. Bluett2, 1AgResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2Dexcel, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton, New Zealand, email: nicky.roberts@agresearch.co.nz
Previous research has indicated that dairy cows in the Waikato can have significantly elevated body temperatures during warm summer conditions. The aim of this experiment was to quantify the use of shade by cows in hot weather, and the extent to which the provision of shade reduces body temperature. Lactating cows were assigned to two groups of 10, balanced for colour and age. One group was grazed in a paddock containing a shade structure (36m2), while the other group was grazed in an adjoining paddock with no shade, for 10 days, followed by a further 10-day period in which the groups were swapped. Vaginal loggers recorded body temperature, and video cameras recorded shade use (06:30 to 20:30 h). Temperature, humidity and black globe temperature were measured in and out of the shade. Both groups of cows were observed for two 24-h periods, where time spent grazing, standing or lying was recorded to determine cow activity patterns. Data analysis was restricted to days with a maximum temperature of over 25˚C. There was no difference between shaded and unshaded cows in mean daily body temperature. Regression analysis indicated that shade use increased exponentially with increasing ambient temperature, and that cows started to use the shade when the temperature reached 25˚C. Shaded cows had a lower mean body temperature during the day (39.0 vs. 38.9˚C; P=0.05), and had a lower peak daily temperature (40.1 vs. 39.7˚C; P<0.05). Interestingly, the shaded cows were warmer at night (P<0.05). Although the shaded cows spent 63.7 ± 7.9 min per day in the shade, there was no difference in 24-h grazing time between shaded and unshaded cows. In conclusion, cows used the shade in warm conditions, and shade use lowered body temperature, but did not affect overall time spent grazing.
Stand-Off Management Practices For Improved Dairy Cow Welfare: Science-Based Solution
Gwyneth Verkerk1, A. D. Fisher2, M. Stewart2, C. J. Morrow2 and L. R. Matthews2, 1Dexcel, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2AgResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand email: gwyneth.verkerk@dexcel.co.nz
Stand-off management of pasture-fed dairy cows during winter was identified as a potential welfare issue at an industry workshop. Dairy cows are often removed from pasture in wet weather to prevent treading damage. Facilities used for stand-off include farm tracks, small paddocks, concrete yards and purpose-built pads. Dairy cows prefer a comfortable resting surface, and may lie down less on hard or muddy surfaces. A series of research projects was conducted to examine cow welfare under differing stand-off practices, and to provide management recommendations. Initial scientific investigation focused on the activation of physiological stress mechanisms under varying conditions of reduced rest and feeding. Lactating cows, lying restricted from 15:00 to 06:45h daily, exhibited changes in physiological regulation of the stress-responsive hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, with reduced pituitary secretion of ACTH in response to CRH. Subsequent behavioural studies showed that the behavioural demand for lying in lying-restricted cows was very similar to the demand for feed in feed-restricted cows, indicating that lying is a highly valued commodity. The applied phase of the research then examined cow lying behaviour and stress variables in response to four stand-off surfaces in a controlled study on a research farm. Friesian cows were stood off pasture over 4-day periods, apart from a 3-hour period each day at grass. The stand-off surfaces compared were 1) concrete yard, 2) sandy gravel farm race, 3) small paddock, and 4) purpose-built pad with a woodchip surface. Cows on the pad lay for 11.9 hours/day, whereas cows on other surfaces lay for 7 hours or less. In addition, cows stood off on the concrete yard lost more weight, had a shorter stride length, and had elevated faecal cortisol levels. These studies confirmed that restricted lying is a physiological and behavioural stressor for cows, and that reduced lying and other undesirable effects can occur on some stand-off surfaces under experimental conditions. The final phase of the research involved the measurement of cow comfort on commercial dairy farms (presented separately). Based on the findings of the science programme, an extension programme is being developed to enable farmers to optimise stand-off management and animal welfare.
Novel non-invasive measures of animal welfare
Al Schaefer 1, L. R. Matthews2, N. J. Cook 1, J. Webster2 and S. L. Scott3, 1 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Lacombe, Alberta, Canada, 2 AgResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton,
New Zealand, 3 AAFC, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
The measurement and interpretation of biological events in animals has always been a challenge. However, without such measurements, the evaluation and understanding of animal welfare is difficult. Animals communicate among themselves and their environment using an amazing variety of signals. Within the electromagnetic spectrum a few examples of utility in this regard include visible light, polarized light, ultra violet and infrared radiation, in addition to such medium as olfactory senses, subsonic and supersonic sound to mention a few. When measuring animal welfare, a researcher is often caught in the paradox whereby the very act of measurement has perturbed the system being measured. This is certainly the case with many conventional measurements such as venous blood sampling for endocrine assessment pre-empted by capture, social isolation, novel noise, light and sound exposure, unpredictability and so forth. At the same time, assessment by behaviour ethograms alone can be only partially descriptive. Therefore, finding a way to combine scientific disciplines in a welfare science environment and in particular, to link or demonstrate that non invasive technologies do relate to or with known biological events, is the subject of the current presentation. The use of four non invasive or minimally invasive technologies in assessing animal welfare will be presented, namely, infrared thermal radiation, measures of stress hormones following collection from saliva or by automatic remote blood sampling, and ultraviolet radiation. The use of classical animal stress models such as ACTH injection or transport exposure can be shown to produce concurrent changes in both infrared thermal radiation and salivary cortisol parameters. For example, ACTH intramuscular injections in an adult horse (200 IU) were seen to predictably cause an increase in salivary cortisol from a baseline on average of 8.7 nmol/L to 27.4 nmol/L at 128 minutes post injection. Concurrent increases in orbital infrared values were also seen changing from on average 27 C at pre injection values to 31 C at 128 minutes post injection. Similarly with cattle and elk exposed to stressors such as transport and handling, a 20-30 % increase in salivary cortisol concomitant with a several degree increase in dorsal or orbital infrared radiated temperature is also often apparent. The effects of social and restraint stress in red deer has been able to be quantified independent of animal handling by the use of our remote blood sampler (DracPac). Interestingly, not only do these less invasive measures show utility in detecting biological change, but do so significantly earlier than many conventional biological indicators or clinical signs. Weaned calves for example exposed to BVD virus show significant changes in salivary cortisol and infrared values several days before clinical behavioural signs of disease induction. Hence, an early predictability of stress and disease is also apparent. The use of these non invasive or less invasive biological measurements to augment ethology measurements in the assessment of animal welfare is suggested.
The Use Of Low Invasive Technologies To Improve Results In Animal Welfare Studies
Christian J. Cook, K. Drake, T. Lowe and D. Thomas, Bioengineering and Biomedical Technologies Group, HortResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, email: ccook@hortresearch.co.nz
In order to improve the welfare of animals in our care we need to understand how they respond to different situations and whether such response is detrimental to them. A long-term confoundment in this is that the imposition of experimental techniques to gather this information may in itself elicit stress responses in the animal. To overcome this inherent limitation, we have been developing new techniques that allow collection of physiological data with a reduction in the invasive load placed on the animal.
In this paper we present three of these methods and demonstrate their versatility in detecting stress responses. These three methods: temperature collection from animal tags, electrosonophoresis and use of a free ranging physiological monitor offer new avenues to animal research that will allow refinement and reduction of experimental collection and also reduce the invasive load on the animal.
Animal Welfare Implications Of Neonatal Mortality And Morbidity In Farm Animals
David J. Mellor1 and Kevin J. Stafford2, Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, 1IFNHH and 2IVABS, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, email: D.J.Mellor@massey.ac.nz
Much has been learnt during the last 50 years about the causes of neonatal mortality and morbidity and about practical means for minimising them in newborn lambs, kids, calves (bovine), deer calves, foals and piglets. The major causes of problems in these newborns are outlined briefly and include hypothermia due to excessive heat loss or to hypoxia-induced, starvation-induced or other forms of inhibited heat production. They also include maternal undernutrition, mis-mothering, infection and injury. The published literature reveals that the scientific investigations which clarified these causes and led to practical means for minimising the problems, involved iterative successions of self-reinforcing laboratory and field investigations conducted over many years. These studies focused largely on solutions to the problems, not on the suffering that the newborn might experience. Accordingly, the animal welfare compromise the newborn may experience before death, or during sickness, had not apparently been analysed until now. As a good state of welfare is achieved when the nutritional, environmental, health, behavioural and mental needs of animals are met, with the animal's subjective experience of well-being, or suffering, being expressed though the mental domain, the present welfare assessment focuses on potentially noxious subjective experiences the newborn may have. The account of the causes of neonatal death or sickness outlined early in this review indicates that the key subjective experiences which require analysis in animal welfare terms are breathlessness, hypothermia, hunger, sickness and pain. Reference to documented responses of farm animals and, where appropriate, to human experience, suggests that breathlessness and hypothermia usually represent less severe neonatal welfare insults than do hunger, sickness and pain. Major science-based improvements in the management of pregnancy and birth have markedly reduced the overall quantum of welfare compromise experienced by newborn farm animals and further improvements may be expected as knowledge is refined and extended in the future.
Mother-Offspring Interactions In Confined And Outdoor Reared Pigs
Maria José Hötzel, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (Federal University of Santa Catarina), Laboratório de Etologia Aplicada, Depto de Zootecnia & Des. Rural, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Rodovia Admar Gonzaga, 1346, Itacorubi Florianópolis, SC, 88.040-900, Brazil. email: mjhotzel@cca.ufsc.br
Mother-offspring relationships during lactation may have a significant role on the subsequent behaviour of piglets after weaning. Considering that such relationships may be altered by the rearing environment, we compared mother-offspring interactions during lactation, and the post-weaning behaviour of the same piglets reared in the outdoor and confined systems.
We carried out an experiment at the outdoor and indoor units of the experimental station of EMBRAPA-CNPSA, south-east Brazil. The behaviour of sows from delivery to weaning (at 21 days) and their litters from birth to 50 days (n=8/treatment) was recorded during 7 h/day (total=168 observations/day) in 7 occasions, at the approximate age of 1, 11, 19, 21, 35 and 50 days. Results were transformed to relative frequency and analysed by ANOVA (df=1).
In contrast to sows confined in crates, which spent 100% of the time in close contact with the litter, the time outdoor sows spent inside the hut with the piglets decreased from 86% on day 1 to less than 30% on days 12 and 19 after delivery. Before weaning, confined piglets spent more time interacting with their mothers (P<0.001), nursing (i.e. suckling, massaging udder and fighting for teats: P<0.01) and displaying oral/nasal behaviours directed to penmates (P<0.004), while outdoor piglets spent more time eating (P<0.02) and exploring the environment (P<0.03). On day 19 outdoor piglets spent 2.5% of the time feeding, compared to 0.2% of confined piglets (P<0.01). At and after weaning, confined piglets spent more time than outdoor piglets displaying agonistic (0.08% vs. 0.69% respectively: P<0.03) and oral/nasal behaviours directed to penmates (0.04% vs. 0.62% respectively: P<0.0001).
Although the outdoor piglets had no physical restriction to access their dam, the sows wandered around the paddock, thus avoiding the extensive contact with the piglets imposed by confinement, which might be aversive to sows. The lower contact with the sow probably encouraged the earlier feeding experience of outdoor piglets. The behaviour of piglets after weaning suggest that the negative impact of the combined loss of the sow and milk after weaning was lower on outdoor than on confined piglets. These issues are relevant for productivity and welfare of sows and piglets.
Behavioural Priorities: Deciding Which Behaviours Are Most Important
Lindsay Matthews, AgResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand
Animal protection legislation around the developed world recognises the contribution of an animal’s activities to its welfare status. For example, the New Zealand Animal Welfare Act (1999) states that an animal should have the "opportunity to display normal patterns of behaviour". Such statements provoke some of the most challenging scientific questions in the study of animal welfare. What is normal behaviour? Do normal behaviours differ in their importance to animals? If normal behaviours differ in their importance, how can this be measured scientifically? Is it necessary that animals should have an opportunity to display all behaviours, or only those that are very important?
Traditionally, normal behaviours are often thought to be those that occur in environments that are considered natural (and usually complex) for a particular species. This is a reasonable assumption, since even after intense genetic selection for desirable production of management traits, domestic animals have a strong propensity to display many of the behaviours shown by their wild progenitors. However, many behavioural traits are expressed only in the presence of (or following prior exposure to) specific environmental stimuli. Many domestic situations are considerably less complex than the natural world. Thus, it is relevant to ask: if particular stimuli are not present, and the associated normal behaviours are not shown, is the animal disadvantaged?
Several different scientific approaches have been used to determine importance and relevance of specific activities to an animal’s welfare. Two models in particular will be used to demonstrate the utility of each approach for assessing the behavioural requirements of animals: dust-bathing in hens, and resting deprivation in cattle.
The various approaches include: measuring animal preferences and aversions; depriving an animal of an opportunity to perform a particular activity and then measuring the effects of this on physical or physiological health and wellbeing, patterns of abnormal behaviour, and degree of compensation following periods of deprivation. These methods are especially useful if there is an obvious health problem associated with the deprivation of a particular behaviour (e.g. lameness following standing for long periods on hard surfaces). However, better methods are required when there is no apparent physical suffering, but there is the possibility of psychological suffering (interestingly, the general public tend to be most concerned about mental suffering of animals).
Measures using tools derived form behavioural economic studies appear to provide the best way to quantify the psychological importance of activities to animals (and, hence, provide an index of the likely degree of mental suffering if the behaviour is not able to be performed). There is room for improvement with this method too. The important consequences of various behaviours can be achieved in many different ways (e.g. temperature can be regulated by a variety of behavioural or physiological mechanisms). Thus, only those behaviours which are deemed important and are unable to be satisfied easily (i.e. without great cost) by some alternative means will be essential for the behavioural integrity of the animal.
The Use Of Concurrent Schedules In The Assessment Of Animal Preferences
Catherine E. Sumpter, T. M. Foster and W. Temple, The University of Waikato, C/- The Psychology Department, The University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand, email: csu@waikato.ac.nz
The assessment or provision of environmental features necessary for an animal’s welfare invariably includes consideration of what the animal likes and dislikes. Thus, preference assessments are fundamental in any welfare debate. An operant procedure, known as the Concurrent Schedule of Reinforcement procedure, has been suggested to be of use in the assessment of animals’ preferences. In this presentation, the advantages and limitations of the concurrent-schedule reinforcement procedure for use in preference assessments will be discussed. Examples of how this procedure has been used to assess the preferences of cows, goats, hens and possums for a variety of environmental features (e.g., food, social contact and sounds) will also be presented.
Demand Functions And The Assessment Of Animal Needs: Some Cautions
T. Mary Foster, C. E. Sumpter & W. Temple, The University of Waikato, C/- The Psychology Department, The University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand, email: m.foster@waikato.ac.nz
Demand measures, derived from Consumer Demand Theory, have been suggested to be of use in the assessment of animal needs. One such measure, known as the demand curve, is generated by increasing the ‘work’ the animal must do to gain access to an environmental feature or event, and plotting the amount consumed against the work (or price) required (on log co-ordinates). Inelastic demand functions, in which consumption drops slowly as price increases, may indicate a degree of need for the event or activity. Elastic demand function curves may indicate lesser or no need. This paper presents demand functions derived from hens working for food under different session lengths, using different response types (key-pecking and door-pushing), and different price manipulations (increasing the number of responses and the force of each response). The results show that different-shaped demand functions result when different procedures are used to generate them, and highlight the caution needed to be taken when defining an event as needed, or not, from a single determination of a demand function.
Do Sheep Regard Humans As Predators?
Ngaio Beausoleil, K. Stafford and D. J. Mellor, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Domestic sheep frequently come into contact with humans during routine husbandry procedures such as mustering, yarding, dipping, drenching and shearing. However, the nature of the relationship that exists between humans and sheep is uncertain. Some scientists postulate that humans are viewed as dominant conspecifics, while others argue that humans are seen as predators.
We used an Arena Test to compare the relative aversion and behavioural responses of sheep to a dog (predator), goat (non-predator), human and a box control. Sixteen of the behavioural responses were used to synthesize a Fearfulness Score for each sheep. These scores and the relative aversion measures were averaged for each stimulus, and compared across the treatments using a Kruskal-Wallis test.
We found that all three live stimuli elicited higher Fearfulness Scores than the box. The dog elicited significantly higher Fearfulness Scores than the goat, however the human scores were not significantly different from either the dog or the goat. Sheep spent the most time nearest the box, significantly less time near the goat, and the least time near the dog. The time spent near the human was not significantly different from the dog or goat. Sheep also spent the most time as far as possible from the dog. There was no difference in the time spent farthest from the human, goat or box.
Both the Fearfulness Scores and Relative Aversions to human presence in the arena were intermediate between the dog and the goat. Both humans and dogs are recognized by the same population of temporal cortical cells in the sheep brain, suggesting that the two have similar emotional significance (Kendrick 1991). Therefore, sheep probably categorize humans as predators, however they are likely to be perceived as a lower risk than dogs. The pronounced avoidance reactions to the human in the Arena test are not consistent with a response to a dominant conspecific. This information is important to understand and exploit the human-sheep relationship in order to reduce the fear or stress experienced by sheep.
Resumption Of ‘Normal’ Activity Patterns In Experimental Sows Following General Anaesthesia And Surgical Implantation Of An Indwelling Catheter
Greg.M. Cronin, B.N Schirmer, E. Leeson and J.L. Barnett, Animal Welfare Centre, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victorian Institute of Animal Science, 600 Sneydes Road, Werribee, Vic 3030, Australia
Most experiments on pig welfare conducted at our laboratory have taken a multi-disciplinary approach including, measurement of the animals’ physiological stress response determined by the concentrations of plasma cortisol in the animal ‘at rest’, or following exposure to treatment stimuli. To achieve a non-stressed state at the time of blood sampling, we have used an indwelling catheter inserted in the cephalic vein and exteriorized to a pouch on the dorsal region of the pig’s neck. While there are data to show that cortisol concentrations return to ‘basal’ within about 72 h of surgery, there are no such data for sow behaviour. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of surgery on return to behavioural ‘normality’ by sows housed in individual and tether stalls.
A total of 32 pregnant sows were observed. Within each of 4 replicates in time, four sows were housed in adjacent stalls each measuring 0.6 m wide x 2.0 m long (Stall Treatment) or tether stalls measuring 0.6 m wide (Tether Treatment). Within each bank of 4 stalls, the sows occupying the two ‘inner’ stalls were the designated experimental subjects and received surgery (Surgery Treatment) to facilitate collection of blood samples, while the sows in the ‘outer’ stalls were designated non-experimental sows (Non-Surgery Treatment). Surgery included sedation (Ketamine and Xylazine), general anaesthesia induced with thiopentone sodium and maintained by gaseous anaesthesia (halothane/O2), and analgesia (Finadyne) given while under anaesthesia. The procedure took about 50 min per animal. The behaviour of the 4 sows per bank was continuously recorded using time-lapse video, for 4 days before surgery and 12 days post-surgery. Night-time video was assisted by low-light cameras under red light. Sows were introduced to their housing treatments in the week after mating and surgery occurred about 7 weeks later.
Activity was increased on the day of surgery and reduced in the 4 days post-surgery. During days 5-8 post-surgery, when physiological and immunological tests were performed, activity levels approached the pre-surgery levels for the Stall Treatment but were dampened in the Tether Treatment. The results also suggest some facilitation of behaviour between neighbouring sows.
Animal Welfare And Vertebrate Pest Control In New Zealand
Bruce Warburton1, K. E. Littin2 and C. O’Connor1, 1Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand, 2Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, IFNHH, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand, email: Warburtonb@landcareresearch.co.nz
Those involved in pest control in New Zealand could be forgiven for believing that animal welfare has no place in pest control, because the Animal Welfare Act 1999 explicitly exempts pest control from the Act. However, this exemption is necessary to allow pest control to continue, even though the activity of killing many animals is contrary to the spirit of the Act. However, pest control does not get a free hand. The Animal Welfare Act enables the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) to prohibit or restrict the use of traps that they consider cause unreasonable pain or suffering. Similarly, the Agriculture and Veterinary Medicines Act 1997, in conjunction with the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, requires pesticides, when submitted for registration, to be evaluated for their negative animal welfare impacts, most likely relying on recommendations from NAWAC. To enable NAWAC members to objectively evaluate the welfare impacts of pest control tools there need to be testing and performance standards against which negative impacts can be compared. For evaluating traps, NAWAC has a set of draft guidelines that set out how traps should be tested, and a set of criteria for assessing whether a trap’s performance is acceptable or not. MAF is currently funding a set of trials that are testing a range of kill traps to determine if any should be prohibited or their use restricted. For pesticides, there is no test standard and MAF have funded the development of a set of standards that attempt to bring some objectivity and consistency into how pesticides might be evaluated for any negative welfare impacts. This paper reviews the results of recent trap testing, and contrasts the relatively simple performance criteria for testing traps with the more complex criteria required for assessing pesticides.
How Humane Is 1080 For Possums?
Kate E. Littin1, C.E. O’Connor2, C.T. Eason2, N.G. Gregory3 and D.J. Mellor4, 1Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, IFNHH, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 2Landcare Research, P.O. Box 69, Lincoln, New Zealand, 3SARDI, PO Box 1571, Flaxley, SA 5153, Australia, 4Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand, email: K.E.Littin@massey.ac.nz
The humaneness of poisons for control of possums in New Zealand is an important animal welfare issue. Millions of possums are killed in New Zealand each year due to the threats they pose to livestock health, wildlife conservation and ecological biodiversity. Sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) is the most commonly used poison for possum control. As part of a larger study on the humaneness of possum poisons, we looked at the effects of 1080 on the behaviour of possums—this paper summarises these experiments. Following approval by the Landcare Research Animal Ethics Committee, we fed a lethal dose of 1080 in carrot baits to 17 caged possums captured from the wild. Possums were observed for behavioural and clinical signs of poisoning from 1.5 h after poisoning until death, using continuous focal sampling and instantaneous scan sampling. The presence or absence of reflexes and responses to handling and other stimuli were determined in nine possums, in order to determine the onset of unconsciousness. The physical appearance of unhandled possums changed 2 h after they had finished eating baits, and they became less alert. About 3 h after consumption, most possums began retching and vomiting. At 3.5 h they became uncoordinated and began spending most of the time lying on their sides, and later on their bellies. At 4 h, 60% of possums had a series of seizures or spasms lasting until death. All possums died after eating the bait. Of the unhandled possums, half of them died between 4.5 and 9 h and the remainder between 14 and 18 h. Response tests indicated that possums remain conscious and aware of noxious stimuli until shortly before death. We can make inferences about the welfare of poisoned possums from these data. For example, retching and vomiting probably cause some distress, and seizures may cause pain and distress if animals regain consciousness afterwards. In separate studies, we are comparing these effects with those of other possum poisons to determine the relative humaneness of 1080.
Feeding Behaviour Of Birds Towards Baits Containing Repellents
Tim Day1,2, L. Matthews1 and J. Waas2, 1Nutrition and Behaviour Group, AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2University of Waikato, Private bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand, email: tim.day@agresearch.co.nz
Non-target birds and invertebrates sometimes die during poison-based possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) control operations. Minimising the hazard, the acceptability or the availability of toxic baits can reduce the risk of non-target poisoning. This project has used feeding behaviour experiments to identify repellents that reduce the acceptability of possum baits to birds. We investigated the acceptance of baits treated with repellents by possums, the repellence of the different compounds to a model avian species, and the repellence of the compounds to native birds. Several bird repellents were found that were accepted by possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in lethal sized baits. Some of the compounds effectively deterred house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from feeding on a preferred food source. Combinations of pairs of the repellents reduced sparrow feeding more than using any one repellent alone. One effective combination used an odour and a taste cue for repellency and the other combination used a visual and a taste cue. The combinations were offered to North Island robins (Petroica australis longipes) in choice and no-choice tests. We found that robins avoided eating possum baits treated with repellent, but did eat baits that contained no repellent. Further feeding behaviour experiments are being conducted with other native birds and invertebrates. These experiments suggest that incorporating repellents into baits may reduce the poisoning of non-target species without compromising the efficacy of possum control.
Welfare Aspects Of Trauma Caused By Firearms And Explosives
Neville G. Gregory, SARDI, PO Box 1571, Flaxley, SA 5153, Australia.
It is often said that we live in a violent society. Violence is a way of expressing political, ethnic and national opposition, and it is used increasingly in crime, and as a form of protest in terrorism. Animals inevitably get caught up in this combat, and although they may not be the main concern at the time, they undoubtedly suffer. Animals are also the intended targets during euthanasia, recreational hunting, and pest control, and in some cases the killing is not immediate. For example, animals are injured without always being killed outright during: recreational stalking, culling, pest control with firearms, or by blasting warrens and dens, attacks on guard dogs, whale hunting using harpoons equipped with penthrite grenades, fish blasting during underwater seismographic oil exploration, and in landmine detection using sniffer dogs.
Some injuries are difficult to reconcile from an animal welfare perspective, because they seem to be either unfair or unnecessary. For example, in a study of non-fatal firearm injuries in urban cats and dogs, it was found that over 60% of the animals had been shot with air gun rounds. Malice was the suspected motive in some of the cases. In a study on recreational shooting, it was found that 14% of live wild ducks had shotgun pellets in their body tissues. Observations on red deer hunting showed that 11% of the deer needed more than one shot to kill them; 7% of the deer took more than two minutes to die, and about 2% of shot deer escaped.
The forms of suffering in bullet and blast injuries can include: pain associated with penetrating and non-penetrating wounds, distress associated with fear, and being unable to escape, or failure to keep up with the social group. In the longer term there can be suffering from being unable to feed and drink, sickness associated with inflammation and infection of the wound, and less commonly, psychological anxiety and dissociative disorders can develop. The types of pain inflicted by firearms and explosives can include: pain due to disruption or displacement of the injured tissues, inflammation causing hyperalgesia and allodynia, neuropathic pain when there has been peripheral nerve damage, central sensitisation when there has been sensory loss in a body region, causalgia, and pain linked with Compartment Syndrome effects. In addition, with severe injuries there is a period of traumatic shock, initiated by the powerful blow and the simultaneous discharge of a large number of nerves. Haemorrhage can provoke strong thirst, and lung or upper airway injuries may lead to respiratory distress. Mobility is inevitably reduced when there is stiffness and soreness in limb wounds. If gangrene sets in, there is an initial period of pain associated with pressure of the accumulating gas, and there is a feeling of sickness as the septicaemia develops.
This overview focuses on the injuries that can be inflicted by bullets and blasts. One approach in understanding this topic is to examine comparable situations in humans, and where appropriate qualify the conclusions with anecdotal and experimental evidence based on animals. A good starting point is to examine the pathophysiological responses to bullet and blast injuries, as these underlie the physical aspects of suffering. In addition, this review encompasses posttraumatic psychological disorders, which are more difficult to characterise in animals, but there are case examples and experimental models which show that they probably occur.
On-Farm Handling And Environments: Impact On Animal Welfare
Paul H. Hemsworth1 and J.L. Barnett2, 1Animal Welfare Centre, University of Melbourne and 2Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Victorian Institute of Animal Science, Werribee, Victoria, 3030, Australia
There are several animal welfare concerns associated with housing livestock indoors. While some have been shown to reduce welfare, others are unresolved or may prove to be perceptions. Close confinement, particularly individual housing and housing in small groups, is a controversial issue for many sections of the general community. The space allowances commonly provided for individually housed livestock and livestock housed indoors in small groups may severely impact on animal welfare. The reliance on technology is also a concern for some sectors of the community because of the animal welfare risks that arise if the technology fails. There is also a range of welfare issues in outdoor production systems, such as intensive grazing and extensive grazing systems. With the likely trend to greater intensification of grassland production in a number of countries, both group size and space allowance are key features of the social environment that may affect animal welfare. High mortality rates in extensive production systems, which at present are taken for granted, are unlikely to be acceptable in the future. A specific difficulty for extensive grassland systems is that of conducting regular animal inspections.
Frequently raised concerns in all production systems are husbandry procedures that inflict pain, even if used to prevent a more serious welfare problem such as fly-strike and biting, pecking, or horn-induced injuries. Addressing key welfare determinants in a QA program, such as facilities and equipment, hygiene, animal inspections, morbidity and mortality and contingency plans, will improve welfare standards in the livestock industries. Another welfare issue in all production systems that is not widely recognised is the competency of the stockperson to manage livestock. This includes work performance, which consists of technical knowledge and skills, and attributes such as job motivation and commitment. Another issue is small scale farming operations, mixed farming operations and hobby farmers that, through either a lack of an understanding of the animal’s requirements, financial constraints and/or a commitment to the animal’s welfare, fail to provide sufficient care and attention to safeguard welfare.
Behavioural Effects Of Environmental Enrichment With Chimpanzees
Melanie Vivian, Waikato University, Private bag 3105, Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand, email: mel@paradise.net.nz
The behaviour of 15 captive, socially-housed, chimpanzees was analysed to determine the effects of complex occupational/foraging enrichment, occupational/structural enrichment, and a combination of the two enrichments. Data were collected between August and September of 2000. There were five days of baseline, 10 days of foraging enrichments, 10 days of structural enrichments, and 10 days of both foraging and structural enrichments. There were two observation sessions per day. In the Foraging Condition, foraging and tool use were at their highest frequency, and resting at its lowest. Only a minimal amount of nest building and arboreal behaviour occurred. In the Structural Condition, most social play, foraging and nest-building behaviour occurred, but tool usage and total foraging were at their lowest. During the combination of enrichments, foraging, social and lone play, nesting, tool use, and arboreal behaviour increased, while social and self-grooming, locomotion, and abnormal and aggressive behaviour decreased. Overall there were significant reductions in resting, locomotion, social grooming and self-grooming across conditions, while foraging, social play and species typical behaviour increased significantly.
The Effects Of Stock Crate Design And Stocking Density On Environmental Conditions For Lambs On Road Transport Vehicles
Andrew D. Fisher1, M. Stewart1, J. Tacon2 and L.R. Matthews1, 1AgResearch, Ruakura Research Centre, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2New Zealand Game Industry Board, New Zealand, email: andrew.fisher@agresearch.co.nz
The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of variations in crate design (especially ventilation) and stocking density for reducing the risk of environmental stress for lambs during long-haul transport in hot weather. In Experiment 1, lambs were transported on vehicles fitted with either a newer design, aluminium crate (3-deck truck, 4-deck trailer), or an older, more open steel crate (3-deck truck, 3-deck trailer). In Experiment 2, lambs were transported on newer design vehicles at either standard practice stocking density or low density (20% less). Each journey was replicated twice and consisted of travel periods and stationary periods designed to emulate conditions associated with an inter-island ferry crossing. Air ammonia concentrations and temperature and humidity were monitored within 6 pens on each vehicle, and the temperature-humidity index (THI) was calculated. Ammonia concentrations were variable, and were generally less than 50ppm, with no consistent trends with treatment. The THI increased when the vehicles were stationary, especially under conditions designed to emulate an enclosed ferry deck. The ambient climatic conditions during Experiment 1 were not very warm, although there was evidence that THI was slightly lower in the older design crate. High ambient temperatures were present during Experiment 2, and THI was significantly lower at low density loading. During a 3-hr stationary period, the peak THI at standard practice stocking density was 91.0, compared with 84.9 for the low density treatment (P<0.001). In conclusion, for a standard type of lamb transport vehicle, a strategy such as lowered loading density may be of considerable benefit in minimising the risk of lamb deaths during inter-island transport on hot days.
Health And Welfare Of Cloned And Transgenic Animals
D.N. Wells, Reproductive Technologies Group, AgResearch, PB 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand
An efficient animal cloning technology would provide many new opportunities for livestock agriculture, human medicine, animal conservation and the generation of transgenic animals. Nuclear transfer is the methodology used to produce cloned animals that are genetically identical to the donor cells. It is a remarkable demonstration of developmental plasticity that the pattern of gene expression in the donor nucleus of a differentiated somatic cell can be reprogrammed following nuclear transfer to enable a cloned embryo to develop. However, currently it is an inefficient process. In cattle, only 15% of the embryos transferred to the reproductive tracts of recipient cows result in viable calves. This compares to 45% embryo survival following bovine in vitro fertilisation. Of concern are the high losses throughout gestation, during birth and in the post-natal period. Many of these pregnancy losses relate to failure of the placenta to develop and function correctly. However, the fact that nuclear transfer is successful in producing physiologically normal animals provides encouragement for eventually elucidating the molecular mechanisms for effecting complete epigenetic reprogramming to develop a robust and safe procedure. This will reduce the current animal welfare concerns and improve the future utility and acceptability of cloning technology.
Transgenic animals are now being produced following nuclear transfer with cells that have been genetically modified in vitro. A wide range of applications exist depending upon the genes that are manipulated. Examples include human health benefits such as the production of pharmaceutical proteins harvested from the milk of livestock, organs for xenotransplantation, models for human genetic diseases and various agricultural applications aimed at improving the quality or quantity of food or fibre products. The potential consequences on the welfare of transgenic animals depend upon the specific genetic modification and its effect in either a hemi- or homozygous state. These potential effects form a continuum from severely reduced animal welfare (e.g. inappropriate over-expression of growth hormone) to benign (e.g. increased expression of bovine milk proteins in cattle) to enhanced welfare (e.g. pest and disease resistance). The consequences on the animal are also affected by the site of integration of the transgene, the degree of control over its expression, exposure of the host animal to biologically active transgene-derived proteins and the in vitro embryo technologies used to produce the transgenic animals. Strategies to introduce transgenes in a site-specific manner aim to reduce the variability encountered with random integration. Greater understanding of the regulation of gene expression will improve the predictability of the physiological consequences on the animal.
It is important to use appropriate determinants to assess the long-term health, well-being and productivity of cloned and transgenic livestock and their subsequent progeny in farm settings. International studies have commenced in this area. Results show a variety of outcomes perhaps reflecting species-specific and/or cloning methodological differences. Physiological tests on cloned calves suggest normality, whereas other reports indicate deficiencies in immune function. Behavioural studies in cloned mice show no obvious abnormalities. The phenotype of clones may be influenced by the donor cell type used for nuclear transfer. Adult mice cloned from Sertoli cells (male) died at an unusually early age, whereas those cloned from cumulus cells (female) instead became obese. These phenotypes have not been reported in other species; however, it is important to monitor this situation closely. The obese phenotype was not transmitted to offspring following sexual reproduction, indicating an epigenetic rather than a genetic error. This provides confidence in what will probably be the first application of agricultural cloning; namely, the production of small numbers of physiologically healthy cloned sires for natural mating. Cloning on a larger scale will not be feasible nor tolerated until efficiencies improve.
Assessing Libido: Implications For The Cow And Bull
Bryce C. Jerebine1, M. W. Fisher1 and P. D. Johnstone2, 1AgResearch, Poukawa, PO Box 8144, Havelock North, New Zealand, 2AgResearch Invermay, PB 50034, Mosgiel, New Zealand
Farmers have to have animals that will perform in order to maintain profitability. Breeding performance can be estimated on physical attributes and mating behaviour with individual animals having the ability to markedly influence herd productivity. The performance of beef bulls is sometimes determined using a Serving Capacity test, also known as the Blockey test. The number of times that a bull mounts a restrained cow in a yard test is significantly correlated with reproductive performance in the field. In one Australian study, cows mated to bulls with a high serving capacity (9-10 mounts in 7.5 h) had a significantly higher conception rate (77.3%) at first oestrus, than those mated to bulls with lower serving capacities (2-3 mounts in 7.5 h resulting in a 58.8% conception rate).
However enhancing herd performance has the potential to compromise the welfare of an individual animal and the aim of this study is to consider the implications for the animals. This was undertaken by reviewing the scientific literature, with respect to various indicators of welfare, and included national and international perspectives.
The duration of the test has been shortened to 10-20 minutes, potentially reducing the power of the test in distinguishing between high and low libido bulls. The value of a shortened duration test may thus be in identifying unsound bulls, in training bulls, or as a marketing aid. There is much variation between bulls, breeds, ages and environments questioning the relevance of the test. This highlights the risks of using a simple test for measuring a complex courtship and mating behaviour. Surprisingly, there has been little animal welfare research on serving capacity, and perhaps not so surprisingly the cow’s perspective has not been studied, although there are guidelines to reduce risk of injury.
In conclusion, this study raises questions of the welfare of the cow, highlights the lack of definitive scientific data in New Zealand conditions, and necessitates the need to distinguish between the objectives of determining breeding soundness of individual bulls and enhanced conception to first oestrus in a herd.
A Field Trial Of More Humane Ways To Castrate And Tail Dock Housed Lambs
Joyce E. Kent, V. Molony, B. D. Hosie, and B. Sheppard, Dept. Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK, email: j.e.kent@ed.ac.uk
Ten shepherds, who managed housed ewes for lambing, tested two methods for the reduction of pain from rubber ring castration and tail docking in 2-day old lambs. Method one involved the injection of local anaesthetic by high-pressure needle-less injection immediately before or after the elastrator rings were applied (RRla, n=20 per shepherd). Method two used a bloodless castrator to destroy the innervation from the scrotal and tail regions (Brr, n=20 per shepherd). These methods for pain reduction were compared with standard elastrator rings with (RRpc, n=10 per shepherd) and without (RR, n=10 per shepherd) placebo treatment. The incidence of active behaviours (REW score) of 8 lambs per treatment per shepherd was recorded 15 to 45 min after treatment. The shepherd and an experimenter also made a pain assessment using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) during the same period. Both methods of pain reduction took at least twice as long to apply as RR alone (29 ± 15 sec). The shepherds and the experimenter both estimated that the pain was less in lambs treated with methods of acute pain reduction with median VAS scores (cm) for the experimenter of 1.8 (RRbn), 1.9 (RRla) 4.1 (RRpc) and 7.1 (RR). The incidence of active behaviours, with median REW scores of RRbn 25, RRla 25, RRpc 92, RR 115 and abnormal posture with full extension of the hind limbs (10 min, 6 min, 18min, and 22 min respectively) were consistent with this finding. Twenty-six to 30 days after treatment, the methods of acute pain reduction had decreased the clinical score, size of the lesion and the time taken for the scrotum to drop-off. Of the methods of pain reduction, the majority of shepherds preferred RRla and from the behavioural measurements this method was effective in this age of lamb. However, they were unlikely to use it because of the increased costs.
The authors acknowledge the time and help given to the trial by the shepherds and farmers and the financial support of MAFF, SOAEFD and the Meat and Livestock Commission. The presenter would like to thank the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and America to study welfare issues of livestock mutilations.
Behavioural Responses Of Calves To Amputation Dehorning With And Without Local Anaesthesia
Shauna P. Sylvester1, K. J. Stafford2, D. J. Mellor1, R. A. Bruce2 and R. N. Ward2,1Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, IFNHH, Massey University, New Zealand, 2Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, IVABS, Massey University, New Zealand
Dehorning of cattle is a routine husbandry practice performed to reduce injury to stock handlers and stock, to reduce economic losses through hide and carcass damage and to improve husbandry. However, dehorning per se is a welfare issue because it involves tissue damage and causes significant distress. The aim of the current study was to use behavioural indices to assess the distress of dehorning and its alleviation. This study complemented earlier work using physiological indices. It was intended that this research would provide scientific data to aid in the writing of welfare codes and advisory material concerning the dehorning of cattle. Six-month-old Friesian calves, weighing about 130 kg (n=59), were observed in yards during the first 10 h and between 26 and 29 h after treatment. There were three treatments: control handling, scoop dehorning or scoop dehorning after local anaesthesia. Calf behaviour was recorded on video and on data sheets using point scan behaviour sampling. There were distinct behavioural profiles according to the treatment received. Tail shaking, head shaking and ear flicking occurred in an inverse relation to rumination. Calves dehorned without local anaesthetic exhibited a high incidence of tail shaking, head shaking and ear flicking that lasted for six hours, whereas control calves had significantly lower incidences of these behaviours and a significantly higher incidence of rumination (P<0.05). When given local anaesthetic the behaviour of dehorned calves was similar (P>0.05) to that of the control calves for two hours, and thereafter tail shaking, head shaking and ear flicking increased to levels similar to those in the scoop calves. These results suggest that dehorning causes significant pain-induced distress which lasts about six hours and that local anaesthesia alleviates that pain for about the first two hours. These findings are consistent with the physiological study (Sylvester et al., 1998). It is recommended that local anaesthetic be administered when carrying out amputation dehorning.
Sylvester SP, Mellor DJ, Stafford KJ, Bruce RA, Ward RN. Acute cortisol responses of calves to scoop dehorning using local anaesthesia and/or cautery of the wound. Australian Veterinary Journal. 1998; 76: 118-122.
Development Of Methods For Humane Velvet Removal
Jim Webster1, T. Pearse1, A. Schaefer2 and L. Matthews1, 1AgResearch, Animal Behaviour and Welfare, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2Agriculture and Agri-Foods, Canada, email: jim.webster@agresearch.co.nz
Velvet antlers are routinely removed from farmed deer on an annual basis to ensure animal and farmer safety and to provide a valuable product used in human health, medicine and dietary supplements. At removal time, velvet antler is a highly vascular and innervated soft tissue. In New Zealand there is a legal requirement for overall veterinary supervision of velvet removal and associated administration of a variety of approved analgesic techniques to prevent pain. Farmers are accredited to meet robust standards of operation and welfare under an audited system. An on-farm quality assurance system also operates in the interests of the animal’s welfare. Antlers are removed using mechanical or chemical restraint and an approved technique for inducing analgesia, which includes local anaesthetic or, in animals of 12 – 15 months of age, pressure applied via rubber rings. The onset, duration and method of analgesia are still being refined and optimised. An alternative to local anaesthetic for older animals, based on the use of compression to produce a rapid nerve block is under development. Such a system has the added advantage of enabling production of drug-free velvet products and meeting consumer expectations. Additional refinements to the velvet removal procedure include ways to reduce stress and provide longer acting pain relief. Central to this work on welfare is the ability to detect and quantify pain. Traditional methods of measuring HPA axis activity are not well suited to this purpose as handling stress may mask responses due to pain. An alternative system, based on aversive behavioural reactions to noxious stimulation provides a convenient and reliable method of pain assessment. In calibration of this system, the intensity of behavioural responses correlated well to the severity of the noxious stimulus. This technique was then used to compare aversion to the application and efficacy of the compression system with current best-practice local anaesthetic technique, and the two methods were shown to be comparable. Research along these lines that further addresses concerns regarding the welfare of deer and quality of velvet products is essential for continued public acceptance of the velvet industry.
Organic Livestock Farming And Animal Welfare
Kevin J. Stafford1 and D. J. Mellor2, Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, 1IVABS and 2IFNHH, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
Organic farming is regulated by government and non-government organisations, which may be classified as strict or liberal depending on their rules regarding the use of agrichemicals. Strict organisations prohibit the use of antibiotics and anthelmintics. If these compounds have to be used then treated animals must be quarantined and lose organic certification for at least 12 months. Liberal organisations allow antibiotics and anthelmintics to be used more freely in the treatment of animal disease.
Organic farms are commercial enterprises. If they are not supported by government subsidies, profit will be influenced by productivity, but a farm gate price greater than that for conventional product is necessary. In organic livestock farming stocking rates are lowered for regulatory and biological reasons. Lower stocking rates should reduce health problems, improve nutrition and allow for change in sward composition, all of which may improve animal welfare.
Limiting the use of veterinary medicines makes the prevention and treatment of animal disease more difficult. Organisations that prohibit the use of vaccines and prophylactic anti-parasitic drugs evidently require animals to become ill before proven treatment is permissible. This has a negative effect on animal welfare. There is little evidence to suggest that alternative medicines are effective. However, many livestock diseases have complex aetiologies and prevention may be based on management techniques that do not require conventional medicines.
The few studies of organic farms found that livestock health problems were no worse on organic farms than on conventional farms, but that productivity was lower both per hectare and per stock unit on the former. Organic management practices appear to succeed in preventing disease. However, antibiotics and anthelmintics are safety nets for poor management and as their use by organic farmers is severely restricted, very good management is essential to prevent disease outbreaks. If management is poor then there may be major animal welfare problems.
The regulations produced by the organisations controlling organic farming are inadequate. They do not cover the use of analgesics and some prohibit dehorning, tail docking and castration. Regulations vary considerably and thus it is not possible to generalize about the welfare implications of organic farming. The laws governing animal welfare also apply to organic farming systems and these should guarantee adequate standards regardless of livestock farming system.
There is a need for further studies into the health and welfare of livestock during and after the transition to organic management, and for ongoing comparisons with conventional farms. If the well being of livestock on organic farms is as good as on conventional farms then research should identify why this occurs.
Posters
Stress Inoculation In Sheep
Arnold S. Chamove DSc., Massey University Psychology Department, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand, email: A.S.Chamove@Massey.ac.nz
Presently there are recommended ages within which to hold, tag, clip, castrate, and dock lambs; ages which differ in different countries. The ‘best’ time to do this docking has not been assessed. ‘Best’ can be defined by many criteria, such as convenience to the farmer, or minimal aversive response by lambs when docked. Here, we mean the best docking age so as to inoculate lambs against stressors after they are weaned.
Research on rats (Denenberg 1967) in the late ‘60s has consistently shown that briefly stressing rat pups early in life leads to adults, some of which are better able, and others which are less able to withstand stress when adult, depending on the specific age at which the early stress was applied. It is likely that varying the ages at which normal farming stressors (e.g. docking) are applied to lambs will similarly lead to consistent responses to stressors in those sheep when adult.
Massey University records the exact birth date of 300 of its lambs each year, lambs that are subsequently castrated and docked. And later in life, blood is routinely sampled as part of an ongoing research project. These sheep are caught for weighing, blood withdrawal, and other measurements when adult, thereby applying a brief stressor to them. We therefore have the opportunity to see how the precise age of the early stress of docking effects adult reactions to the stress of handling for blood sampling.
When the lambs were adult, at 4 weeks past weaning, they were again restrained for blood drawing and their response to stress was measured by how long it took them to resume grazing when they were released following the procedure.
Two years of data have shown consistent ages where sheep resume feeding more-rapidly (days 7-11) than the average, suggesting a stress-inoculation function for the routine husbandry procedures.
Developing A Code Of Welfare Under The Animal Welfare Act 1999: A Case Study
Frances Clement, NZ Pork Industry Board, PO Box 4048, Wellington, New Zealand, email: frances.clement@pork.co.nz
The New Zealand Pork Industry Board (NZPIB) is a producer board governed by the Pork Industry Board Act 1997, and funded by pork producers (farmers) in New Zealand. NZPIB’s objective is set out in Section 5 of that Act. This section requires the Board to:
- Help in the attainment, in the interests of pig farmers, of the best possible net on-going returns for pigs, pork products and co-products.
- In pursuing its object the Board must have regard to the desirability of the pork industry’s making the best possible net on-going contribution to the economy.
Under Section 70 of the Animal Welfare Act 1999 (the Act), NZPIB undertook to develop a draft Code of Welfare to submit to the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC). The process was guided by the requirements set out in the Act, including Section 71(2) requiring consultation. This process will be described, covering the steps up until the draft Code was submitted to NAWAC on 28 September 2001, and during the public notification period.
The Relation Between Preference And Demand Measures With Domestic Hens
Amanda Flevill, C. Sumpter, T. M. Foster and W. Temple, University of Waikato, Private Bag 3105, Hamilton, New Zealand
The determination of animal preferences and needs is useful in assessing animal welfare. The concurrent-schedules procedure has been used for the former, and the generation of demand functions using increasing fixed-ratio schedules has been used for the latter. This study attempted to examine how data from the two methods relate. In the preference assessment phase, hens performed on equal concurrent schedules with wheat paired with puffed wheat, honey-puffed wheat, and wheat over three conditions. The hens’ behaviour was biased towards wheat with smaller biases away from honey-puffed wheat than from puffed wheat. In the demand assessment phase, demand functions for the same three foods were obtained through successive increases in the fixed-ratio schedule within an open economy with fixed-length sessions. Curvilinear mixed-elasticity functions were obtained for all foods. The fixed ratio at which the functions change from being inelastic to elastic (Pmax) was greater for the preferred food (wheat), then for honey-puffed wheat, then puffed wheat (i.e. following the order of the concurrent schedule biases). The height of the overall-response rates, running-response rates, and the initial consumption rates, decreased in an inverse order to the concurrent schedule biases. The post-reinforcement pause times increased following the order of the concurrent schedule biases. It was argued that the different physical attributes and differing caloric concentration of the foods tested, may have contributed to these findings.
A Field Trial Of More Humane Ways To Castrate And Tail Dock Hill Lambs
Joyce E. Kent, V. Molony, B. D. Hosie, and B. Sheppard, Dept. Preclinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, Summerhall, Edinburgh EH9 1QH, UK, email: j.e.kent@ed.ac.uk
Ten shepherds who regularly castrate and / or tail dock hill lambs (aged 2wk to 8 wk) compared a standard Burdizzo method of castration (Bu, n=20 per shepherd) with elastrator ring methods:- 1) involved the injection of local anaesthetic into the neck of the scrotum by high-pressure needle-less injection immediately before or after the elastrator rings were applied (RRla, n=20 per shepherd); 2) placebo (1/100 dilution of local anaesthetic) was used instead of local anaesthetic (RRpc, n=10 per shepherd); 3) used a bloodless castrator to destroy the innervation from the scrotal and tail regions (Brr, n=20 per shepherd). The incidence of active behaviours (getting up and down, rolling, jumping, foot stamping, kicking, easing quarters and tail wagging - REW score) of six lambs per treatment per shepherd was observed 15 to 45 min after treatment. The shepherd and an experimenter also made a pain assessment using a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) during the same period. Both methods of pain reduction took less time to apply than Burdizzo castration (Bu, 58 sec, Brr, 53 sec, RRla, 47sec). On average the shepherds and the experimenter both estimated that the pain was less in lambs treated with methods involving pain reduction compared with placebo treated lambs. However, the median (interquartile ranges) REW score for RRla lambs (73, 43 to 103) was not significantly lower than placebo treated lambs (83, 52 to 128). The median REW scores for Brr (12, 3 to 27) and Bu (3, 1 to 8) lambs were similar and significantly (P<0.001) lower than for RRla and RRpc lambs. Twenty-six to 30 days after treatment, the clinical score, size of the lesion and the time taken for the scrotum to drop-off was greater (longer) than for the same methods used in 2-day old lambs. The majority of shepherds preferred RRla, however, Brr and Bu appeared more humane, although the latter was not always an effective method of castration.
The authors acknowledge the time and help given to the trial by the shepherds and farmers and the financial support of MAFF, SOAEFD and the Meat and Livestock Commission. The presenter would like to thank the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust for the opportunity to travel to New Zealand and America to study welfare issues of livestock mutilations.
Ranking The Humaneness Of Possum Poisons
Kate E. Littin1 and C. O’Connor2, 1Animal Welfare Science and Bioethics Centre, IFNHH, Massey University, Private Bag 11-222, Palmerston North, New Zealand, 2Landcare Research, PO Box 69, Lincoln 8152, New Zealand, email: K.E.Littin@massey.ac.nz
New Zealand uses five main poisons to kill millions of brushtail possums every year. By collecting precise data on the prevalence, character and duration of noxious effects caused by each of these poisons, their relative humaneness for possums can be ranked. We set out to do this for each of these five poisons. All research was conducted with prior approval from the Landcare Research Animal Ethics Committee. We lethally dosed possums with poisons normally used for possum control, and in the form and concentration in which they are usually used. Cyanide was presented as encapsulated pellets and paste; sodium monofluoroacetate (1080) as impregnated carrot baits; phosphorus as paste; cholecalciferol in a gel and pellets; and brodifacoum in cereal pellets. Possums were bled to determine physiological changes, or observed for changes in behaviour and clinical signs of poisoning, then necropsied after death to assess pathological changes. The mean time until death, mean duration of illness, and the type and prevalence of changes differed between poisons. On average, death occurred 18 min after cyanide, 11.5 h after 1080, 18 h after phosphorus, 9 d after cholecalciferol, and 21 d after brodifacoum poisoning. Behavioural responses observed in some or all possums included incoordination and unconsciousness within 7 min after cyanide poisoning; retching during an 8-h illness period after 1080; restlessness and a crouching posture for 16 h after phosphorus; inappetence and listlessness for 47 h before death after cholecalciferol; and listlessness and abnormal postures for 6 d before death after brodifacoum poisoning. This meant our ranking method had to allow comparison between shorter-acting poisons with more severe noxious effects and longer-acting poisons with less severe effects. Ranking any form of animal treatment, from tail-docking methods to pest control techniques, can be performed in a number of ways. We tried various methods to rank possum poisons based on the prevalence, character, duration and severity of noxious effects. Cyanide was ranked the most humane poison for possums, and phosphorus and brodifacoum were less humane than 1080, cholecalciferol, or cyanide. This information could be used to define whether poisons are acceptably humane for use in New Zealand.
The Effects Of Winter Management Practices On The Lying Behaviour Of Cows On New Zealand Dairy Farms
Mairi Stewart1, A. D. Fisher1, G. A. Verkerk2 and L. R. Matthews1, 1AgResearch, Private Bag 3123, Hamilton, New Zealand, 2Dexcel, Private Bag 3221, Hamilton, New Zealand email: mairi.stewart@agresearch.co.nz
On New Zealand dairy farms, during wet winter conditions, many farmers move their cows off pasture on to a stand-off area, to prevent treading damage to the soil and to conserve pasture. Experimental studies showed that on some stand-off surfaces, such as concrete, cow lying times were reduced and stress responses increased. The aim of this study was to confirm these findings in a commercial environment, by comparing the effects of six commonly used stand-off surfaces on cow comfort, during normal winter management procedures on dairy farms. A total of 216 pregnant, non-lactating Friesian cows were observed on 18 farms: nine in Waikato and nine in Southland. Standing and lying behaviour was recorded by scan sampling each cow every 10 min for 24 hrs on each farm. In Waikato, cows were stood-off on woodchip pads, concrete yards and farm laneways, and in Southland, cows were stood-off on covered woodchip pads, uncovered woodchip pads and fodder crops. On five of the Southland farms with woodchip pads, cows had simultaneous access to a concrete feed pad. On these farms, additional observations were made of eating, and the surface the cows were standing or lying on was recorded. In Waikato, cows spent longer lying per day on woodchip pads (11.3 hrs) than cows on concrete (2.4 hrs) and farm races (4.1 hrs). In Southland, the lying times for cows on crops (11.2 hrs) were not different from cows on covered woodchip pads (10.2 hrs) or uncovered woodchip pads (11.5 hrs). When given access to concrete or woodchips, cows spent a total of 7.2 hrs per day on the concrete area, and the rest of the day on the woodchip pad. Most of the time that cows spent on concrete was for eating (4.0 hrs). Cows were never observed to lie down on the concrete area. These results, under normal winter stand-off practices on-farm, confirmed previous results under experimental conditions. Lying times for cows on concrete and farm races were sub-optimal, and in terms of cow comfort, crops and stand-off surfaces incorporating woodchip pads were best, because they provided better opportunities for cows to rest.
The Factors Affecting Agonistic Interactions Of Pigs After Grouping In Pens With A Tyre
Toshie Ishiwata, K. Uetake and T. Tanaka, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Sagamihara 229-8501, Japan
To determine the effects of installing a tyre in a pen on agonistic interactions after grouping, 24 pigs were grouped repeatedly. At the first grouping, half of pigs were transferred to other pens where non-littermates existed. Then half of pens were equipped with a tyre (G1). After one week, at the second grouping, the pig transferred before were transferred again to other pens where non-littermates existed (G2). After another week, at third grouping, the pigs transferred at the first and second grouping were transferred to other pens where non-littermates existed. However, pigs in the pens with a tyre were transferred to pens without a tyre in the G2 and pigs in the pens without a tyre were transferred to pens with a tyre. At this grouping, all pens were equipped with a tyre (G3). ANOVA, post-hoc test and correlation analysis were performed in statistical analyses. In the G1, the effects of a tyre on agonistic interactions were not significant. However, the injury score was higher in the pens without a tyre than in the pens with a tyre (P<0.05). In the G2, pigs in the pens with a tyre were attacked more than pigs in the pens without a tyre (P<0.05). The numbers of agonistic behaviours correlated with access to the tyre (rs=0.31; P<0.01). In the G3, for pigs with no experience in using a tyre, the number attacked was larger on the first day after grouping than on the 4th day (P<0.05), and the injury score was higher for pigs being transferred than for pigs not being transferred (P<0.05). In conclusion, 1) installing a tyre in a pen did not have effects to reduce the agonistic interactions of pigs, but it could have an effect to change the style of their attacks, and 2) Getting pigs experienced in using a tyre can be useful for reducing the damage from their agonistic interactions.
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Page last updated: 30 April 2008