Inaccessibility of veterinary and livestock extension services, and shortages of labour and forage could potentially impact the welfare of yaks ( Bos grunniens) in Bhutan. The objective of this study was to assess practices relating to the welfare and management of free-ranging yaks in Bhutan and explore variations between different yak-farming regions. We interviewed herders and observed the behaviour and health status of their animals, using an adaptation of the Welfare Quality® protocol, in three yak-farming regions (east, central and west) of Bhutan between October 2018 and January 2019. In total, for 567 cows and 549 calves, integumentary condition, body cleanliness, ocular and nasal discharge, diarrhoea, signs of damage, and gait were scored. In addition, we assessed 324 cows and 272 calves for avoidance distance and examined 324 cows for subclinical mastitis. The behaviour of the herds was observed in six consecutive 20-min blocks with each block divided into two stages. The first stage (5 min) consisted of counting the number of animals eating, lying down, standing idle and walking. The second stage (15 min) consisted of counting the number of events of agonistic, allogrooming, flehming, self-licking, rubbing/scratching and playing behaviour. Avoidance distance differed between regions for calves, but not for lactating cows. Integumentary lesions, dirty body areas, nasal discharge, ocular discharge, signs of diarrhoea, subclinical mastitis and lameness were virtually absent. A few instances of agonistic behaviour (6% of all counted behavioural events) and flehming behaviour (5% of all counted behavioural events) were observed. Yaks in the central and western regions exhibited more scratching and rubbing behaviour than those in the eastern region. Herders perform a variety of painful management practices (castration, ear tagging, nasal septum piercing) without analgesia, which is a prominent welfare issue. Furthermore, mortality among yaks is relatively high and water sources often dirty, creating a health risk. Nevertheless, the welfare status of yaks living in various regions of Bhutan was assessed as good at the time of visit.

There is continuing debate about the space needs and requirements of broiler chickens, The aims of this study were to measure the amount of floor area a six-week-old broiler occupies for different behaviours and to use the obtained results in two models to estimate the number of birds that can be kept per m2 in large flocks simulating different levels of behavioural synchronisation. Photographs were taken of overhead projections of broilers (2.468 kg on average) kept in floor pens of 1 m2 with either eight (low density) or 16 birds (high density) per pen. Individual body space was measured from these photographs for seven behaviours. Posture and density affected body space of the behaviours idle, drinking, and ground pecking. The first model, computing space needed per bird performing a behaviour in relation to flock size, showed that 15.3-15.7 birds m−2 (37.8-38.7 kg m−2) can be housed maximally, based on low density measurements and 18.5-19.4 birds m−2 (45.7-47.9 kg m−2) based on high density measurements. The second model, computing stocking density based on synchronisation of behaviour and body space, showed that 13.7-15.9 birds m−2 (33.8-39.2 kg m−2) can be housed maximally based on low density measurements and 15.4-18.6 birds m−2 (38.0-45.9 kg m−2) based on high density measurements. Results based on high density measurements implied that birds are compressed. Given the restrictions of a limited number of behaviours and no inclusion of movement and social interactions in the models of this study, stocking density in large flocks should not exceed 16 birds m−2 (39.4 kg) because that would lead to compression of birds which will suppress opportunities for behavioural expression and therefore impair welfare.

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Fishing companies are faced with decreasing profitability and increasing competition. These companies can try to gain a competitive advantage by differentiating their products, e.g. by marketing new product attributes that consumers are interested in such as attributes relating to sustainability. Although consumers could be considerably interested in social sustainability of fish, this sustainability dimension has received little research interest so far. The main objective of this thesis is to understand social sustainability of capture fisheries. Social sustainability can be understood by applying the framework for social sustainability assessment, which consists of stakeholder consultation and issue selection, indicator development and quantification, and interpretation of the results, to the case considered. The case considered in this thesis was capture fisheries in the northeast Atlantic. Stakeholder consultation resulted in the identification of 27 social sustainability issues relevant for capture fisheries in the northeast Atlantic. Overall, social sustainability issues concerning working conditions, employees' job fulfilment and fish welfare were seen as more important than other social sustainability issues. Indicators were defined for the most important social sustainability issues of capture fisheries in the northeast Atlantic. To interpret values for each indicator, rubrics were developed that articulated levels of performance. Application of these indicators and their accompanying rubrics to a Norwegian trawler demonstrated that the indicators and rubrics provide insight into social sustainability at the level of the vessel, which can be used to identify potential room for improvement. To determine whether social sustainability issues can be used for product differentiation, consumer interest in social sustainability issues of whitefish from the northeast Atlantic was studied. Results from a choice modelling survey demonstrated that consumers prefer the issue fish welfare over the issues product quality, worker safety and local employment. Given the lack of overview of the knowledge on fish welfare, the most important social sustainability issue for consumers, the literature on this topic was reviewed to determine how the capture process in capture fisheries affects fish welfare, using the indicators external injuries and mortality. This review showed that scale, skin and fin injuries occur more frequently in trawls, purse seines, gillnets, traps and seines than in hooks, whereas hooking injuries occur in hooks only. Pressure injuries can occur in all gear types when deployed at greater depth. Trawls, purse seines and seines result in higher mortality than gillnets, hooks and traps. Mortality appears to increase with decreasing fish length, and differs across fish species. A greater capture depth and a longer fishing duration were associated with more external injuries and higher mortality, whereas a large change in water temperature, a longer duration of air exposure and a high density in ...