Animal-related injuries are among the most common occupational injuries in agriculture. Despite the large number of documented animal-related injuries in dairy farming, the issue has received relatively limited attention in the scientific literature. The farmers' own perspectives and views on risks and safety during livestock handling and what they think are effective ways of preventing injuries are valuable for the future design of effective interventions. This paper presents results from a qualitative study with the aim to investigate Swedish dairy farmers' own experience of animal-related occupational injuries, as well as their perceptions of and attitudes towards them, including risk and safety issues, and prevention measures. A total of 12 dairy farmers with loose housing systems participated in the study. Data collection was conducted by means of semistructured in-depth interviews. Three main themes with an impact on risks and safety when handling cattle were identified: the handler, the cattle, and the facilities. They all interact with each other, influencing the potential risks of any work task. Most of the farmers believed that a majority of the injuries can be prevented, but there are always some incidents that are impossible to foresee. In conclusion, this study indicates that Swedish dairy farmers are aware of the dangers from working with cattle. However, even though safety is acknowledged by the farmers as an important and relevant issue, in the end safety is often forgotten or not prioritized. One concern is that farmers are willing to take calculated risks to save money or time. In situations where they work alone with high stress levels and under economic distress, safety issues are easily given low priority.

Most ARE isolates in Sweden were clonally related. High-level ciprofloxacin resistance was found in ARE isolates of PhP type FMSE1 as well as in other PhP types, but never in ASE isolates.

Cattle handling is a dangerous activity on dairy farms, and cows are a major cause of injuries to livestock handlers. Even if dairy cows are generally tranquil and docile, when situations occur that they perceive or remember as aversive, they may become agitated and hazardous to handle. This study aimed to compare human-animal interactions, cow behavior, and handler safety when moving cows to daily milking and moving cows to more rarely occurring and possibly aversive hoof trimming. These processes were observed on 12 Swedish commercial dairy farms. The study included behavioral observations of handler and cows and cow heart rate recordings, as well as recording frequencies of situations and incidents related to an increased injury risk to the handler. At milking, cows were quite easily moved using few interactions. As expected, the cows showed no behavioral signs of stress, fear, or resistance and their heart rate only rose slightly from the baseline (i.e., the average heart rate during an undisturbed period before handling). Moving cows to hoof trimming involved more forceful and gentle interactions compared with moving cows to milking. Furthermore, the cows showed much higher frequencies of behaviors indicative of aversion and fear (e.g., freezing, balking, and resistance), as well as a higher increase in heart rate. The risk of injury to which handlers were exposed also increased when moving cows to hoof trimming rather than to routine milking. Some interactions (such as forceful tactile interactions with an object and pulling a neck strap or halter) appeared to be related to potentially dangerous incidents where the handler was being kicked, head-butted, or run over by a cow. In conclusion, moving cows to hoof trimming resulted in higher frequencies of behaviors indicating fear, more forceful interactions, and increased injury risks to the handler than moving cows to milking. Improving potentially stressful handling procedures (e.g., by better animal handling practices and preparation of cows to cope with such procedures) can increase handler safety, animal welfare, ease of handling, and efficiency.

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The EU regulation for organic pig production requires outdoor access to promote the animal welfare. This may increase the risk of infection of the common pig parasites, Ascaris suum and Trichuris suis, because their eggs can survive for many years in the soil. The egg contamination of these parasites in outdoor areas with different managements and the faecal egg output from the pigs was investigated on 11 Swedish organic pig farms in 2008. We found eggs of A. suum and, to a minor extent, T. suis in the soil from outdoor areas, which had previously been used for pig rearing and/or for spreading of pig manure. Piglets and their dams were turned out on pastures included in a crop rotation, and these areas had a mean of 2500 A. suum and 40 T. suis eggs per kilogram soil. When the pigs were 12-week-old, the faecal egg counts (FECs) of A. suum were positively correlated with the egg concentration in pasture soils before pig turnout. The areas used by dry sows had a mean of 11,700 A. suum and 220 T. suis eggs per kilogram soil. The highest egg concentrations in the soil were found in areas, frequently used by pigs in the most recent years. To minimise pasture contamination with parasite eggs, it is advised to have a crop rotation system and to inactivate parasite eggs in pig manure before spreading it. Parasite control needs further development to protect suckling piglets from infections due to environmental parasite egg contamination.

Livestock handling in dairy production is associated with a number of health and safety issues. A large number of fatal and nonfatal injuries still occur when handling livestock. The many animal handling tasks on a dairy farm include moving cattle between different locations, vaccination, administration of medication, hoof care, artificial insemination, ear tagging, milking, and loading onto trucks. There are particular problems with bulls, which continue to cause considerable numbers of injuries and fatalities in dairy production. In order to reduce the number of injuries during animal handling on dairy farms, it is important to understand the key factors in human-animal interactions. These include handler attitudes and behavior, animal behavior, and fear in cows. Care when in close proximity to the animal is the key for safe handling, including knowledge of the flight zone, and use of the right types of tools and suitable restraint equipment. Thus, in order to create safe working conditions during livestock handling, it is important to provide handlers with adequate training and to establish sound safety management procedures on the farm.

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Nitrogen gas (N2) delivered in high expansion foam in a closed container could be a feasible method for humanely stunning pigs. This study aimed to evaluate potential aversion in pigs to the N2 foam method and its effect on stun quality. Furthermore, the study aimed to assess potential aversion to the foam itself. Sixty pigs (27.8 ± 4.4 kg) were divided into three treatments and were exposed to either N2-filled foam, air-filled foam, or no foam air. The N2 foam was effective at purging the air from the container and quickly created stable anoxic conditions. The pigs did not show any strong aversive behaviours when exposed to foam. However, they seemed to avoid putting their heads and snouts into the foam when foam levels became high. Escape attempts through the lid also increased when the foam started covering their heads. The mean time to loss of posture was 57.9 s. Based on the results, stunning with the N2 foam technique could be a viable alternative to high concentration CO2 stunning and potentially lead to improved animal welfare at slaughter.