Assessment of Welfare Problems in Finnish Cattle and Pig Farms Based on Official Inspection Reports

Abstract

The competent authorities of the Member States of the European Union are required to perform animal welfare inspections on livestock farms. The data obtained from these official inspections performed in Finnish cattle and pig farms in 2010–2015 were used with the aim of estimating the prevalence of the most common non-compliances and identifying underlying risk factors. The prevalence of non-compliant cattle and pig farms was 24.2% and 27.9%, respectively. In cattle, the most common problem was an inadequate lying area followed by deficient housing conditions for calves; in pigs, it was a lack of enrichment material. The non-compliances concerning cattle were most frequently detected in autumn and in farms with small herd size, with tie-stall housing and outdoor rearing year-round. The pig farms with a farrow-to-finish unit had a higher prevalence of non-compliances than other production types. The prevalence of the non-compliant farms differed notably between the regions. It can be concluded that the cattle welfare inspections should be performed with a focus on the cold and rainy seasons and at small farms, whereas the pig welfare inspections should mainly focus on farrow-to-finish units. The data received from official inspections should be efficiently utilized in the development of animal welfare inspection system, with the aim of risk-based, consistent and uniform inspections. In addition, the data should be utilized in targeting information for farmers.

Animal Welfare Control—Inspection Findings and the Threshold for Requesting a Police Investigation

“…Also, complaints of violence were negatively associated with the official veterinarians detecting any non-compliances. These results are in line with previous research on production animals with active violence infrequently detected during inspections ( 10 ). It is likely that confirming cases of violence is challenging: animals can only be superficially examined during an inspection, and it is often impossible to prove the cause and mechanism of observed injuries without forensic pathology ( 16 ).…”

“…The inappropriate premises of companion animals, which was the most common type of non-compliance reported in our data, indicate a risk of unhealthy living conditions of the owners. Thus, our results support previous studies underlining the need for active cooperation between animal welfare control, social work, and health care services ( 25 , 26 ). Current knowledge of the intertwined welfare of human and non-human animals ( 27 , 28 ) and the explanations presented by people accused of crimes against animals [e.g., ( 4 , 11 )] indicate that violations of animal welfare reflect the economic hardship and untreated mental health issues of the animal owners.…”

“…This result is consistent with previous research on production animal welfare control. Studies have identified that inadequate lying areas for adult cattle, deficient housing conditions for calves, and a lack of enrichment material for pigs are the most frequent forms of non-compliance ( 10 ). In addition, dirty premises and inadequate feeding and watering have been the most common violations sanctioned in the courts ( 11 ).…”

“…Previous studies on official animal welfare control and criminal sanctions in Finland ( 9 – 13 ) have mainly focused on production animals and have generally recorded passive forms of maltreatment; forms of active violence are rarely detected during inspections ( 10 ) and most infrequently prosecuted in the courts ( 11 ). Only the most severe cases with a prolonged lack of adequate premises, feeding and watering as the main non-compliances seem to result in a criminal procedure ( 11 ), and the features of these cases have not been clearly identified.…”

High‐density diet improves growth performance and beef yield but affects negatively on serum metabolism and visceral morphology of Holstein steers

“…Current assessments of cattle welfare focus more on external management, such as space requirements, feeding and watering (Rahman, Xia, Su, & Cao, 2017;Väärikkälä, Hänninen, & Nevas, 2019), whereas little lights are brought to the healthy status of cattle itself. Ruminal acidosis and digestive disorders caused by intensive feeding system impair growth rate, feed efficiency (Bevans et al, 2005;Malafaia et al, 2016) and carcass quality (Gardner, Dolezal, Bryant, Owens, & Smith, 1999) of steers; thus, internal health of beef cattle should be also considered when optimizing diet.…”