Behaviour as a tool in the assessment of animal welfare

Dawkins, Marian Stamp

doi:10.1078/0944-2006-00122

Cited by 233 publications

(183 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…play or standing alert, respectively) and number of different behaviours acted by individuals (Dawkins, 2003;Young et al, 2012). Weaned foals in the present study have shown a negligible amount of stereotypies and a very low number of negative behaviours such as aggressive acts.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 43%

“…A time budget including as many behavioural patterns typical of the species as possible is desirable in livestock management and provides indications of animal well-being (Dawkins, 2003). Group-living animals show a greater amount of behavioural patterns than individual stabled animals, due to the possibility of interactions (Waran, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Behaviour is the most immediate indicator of animal welfare, and it has been used widely to understand the conditions of livestock under housing systems (Dawkins, 2003). Current farming systems are aimed at ensuring animals have an adequate level of welfare, but management decisions typically have to balance the animals' needs with farm profit and environmental requirements concerning animal well-being.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of behaviour in stabled draught horse foals fed diets with two protein levels

Sartori

Guzzo

Normando

et al. 2017

Animal

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The present work is aimed at evaluating the behaviour of Italian Heavy Draught Horse (IHDH) foals reared in semi-covered stables and fed two isoenergetic total mixed rations with different dietary protein levels (13.2% and 10.6% of CP on dry matter). The study was prompted by the restrictions for nitrate emissions in farms of the European Nitrate Directive. One suggested solution is to reduce dietary protein while maintaining normal performance and welfare, but there is a lack of literature in studies of horses. The behaviours of 20 foals of 437 ± 60 kg of BW, aged 379 ± 37 days and stabled in four pens by sex (S) and diet (D) were video recorded and analysed to build a suitable ethogram including 18 behaviours in six categories: ingestion, resting, maintenance, movement, social activities, other. The percentage of the daily time spent in each behavioural category and single behaviours was analysed via a single traits GLM including S, D and their interaction. Daily activity was consistent with existing literature: foals spent about 33% of the day in ingestion activities and 41% in resting, whereas social interactions constituted 8% of the time and individual maintenance <2%. Concerning diet, foals fed high protein spent more time in movement (19.62 ± 0.73% of day v. 10.45 ± 0.73% in low-protein (LP) foals; P ⩽ 0.001), whereas the LP group increased resting (43.42 ± 1.12% v. 38.02 ± 1.12%; P ⩽ 0.001). No stereotypies were found, and daily activity followed the typical values for draught breeds for foals in both dietary groups, a result that suggests the maintenance of well-being after dietary protein reduction. This result, together with the findings of a companion study showing no changes in growth performances of foals, showed that a reduction of CP in foal diet is reconcilable with the maintenance of performance and welfare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 43%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of behaviour in stabled draught horse foals fed diets with two protein levels

Sartori

Guzzo

Normando

et al. 2017

Animal

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“…A less invasive indicator of an animal's clinical condition involves examining the behavioral repertoire of a species (Dawkins 2004). Abnormal ethological patterns, in addition to the expression of stereotypic behaviors and/or self-mutilation, may suggest poor welfare and the presence of cognitive disorders (Young 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological and behavioral responses to routine procedures in captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

et al. 2016

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The effect of routine captive procedures on the welfare of species used as experimental models in biomedical research is of great interest, since stress may alter the generalization and interpretation of results. This study investigated behavioral and endocrine (fecal cortisol) reactivity patterns in common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) adult males (N = 10) and females (N = 9) subjected to three types of routine procedures in captivity: (1) moving to a same-sized cage (P1), to a smaller cage (P2), and (2) first-time pair formation (P3). Sexually dimorphic cortisol responses were detected in animals submitted to a physical environmental stressor (cage change). Females showed an increased response throughout P1, in relation to baseline (BP) cortisol, and a trend during P2. Males increased cortisol only during P2. On the other hand, males and females showed a similar endocrine response when management involved social challenge (pair formation), with both sexes increasing cortisol levels, but females exhibited a more intense and longer-lasting cortisol increase. Males and females exhibited similar behavioral responses to cage change, except for autogrooming, with males decreasing this behavior in P1. Only females demonstrated a significantly higher increase in piloerection frequency than that of males during the pair formation phase. These endocrine and behavioral changes must be taken into account when interpreting research data that involve these types of procedures. Further studies on the impacts of routine colony management are required to devise and include protocols in official husbandry guidelines.

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“…The performance of species-specific behaviors is assumed to be rewarding in itself or helps to fulfill physiological needs and allows an animal to live according to its nature (Broom, 1996;Dawkins, 2003). A dairy cow has a wide range of cow-specific needs (Algers et al, 2009), of which some are specifically influenced by the presence of foot disorders, such as the ability to rest, to exercise and move freely, to feed and drink, etc.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle by a modeling approach

Bruijnis

Beerda

Hogeveen

et al. 2012

Animal

112

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Foot disorders are the main cause of dairy cow lameness and are considered to have a major impact on the welfare of dairy cattle. This study adopts a modeling approach, using a dynamic stochastic model, to provide more insight into the welfare impact of different types of foot disorders, both clinical and subclinical. The impact of specific foot disorders on welfare was assessed by simulating the incidence and duration of foot disorders and the pain associated with them. Pain assessment was based on locomotion scores, with underlying knowledge obtained from scientific literature and experts. The results demonstrated the seriousness of the welfare impact of foot disorders. The negative welfare impact was measured on a scale from 0 to 60, where the maximum outcome represents a cow having very severe pain during the whole year. On average, each cow achieves a welfare impact score of 12, which is 20% of the maximum welfare impact score. This welfare score equals having severe pain for a period of 3 months, indicating a serious impact on welfare. On average, digital dermatitis impacts most on welfare, which is caused by a high incidence of the painful clinical stage, followed by sole hemorrhages (SoH) and interdigital dermatitis and heel horn erosion (IDHE). The combination of a high incidence and long duration of SoH and IDHE causes this relatively high welfare impact of foot disorders that occur mostly subclinically. On average, over 1 year, 46% of the welfare impact due to foot disorders is caused by clinical foot disorders. The fact that subclinical foot disorders contribute more or less equally to the effects on welfare as clinical ones, indicates that farmers may readily underestimate the welfare impact by a factor two. Modeling welfare impact at cow level, individual cases of foot disorders, stresses the importance of pain intensity, indicating the importance of clinical foot disorders. This study demonstrated the serious welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle and pointed out the considerable impact of subclinical foot disorders. Furthermore, the approach of welfare assessment, for example herd v. cow level, influenced the ranking of foot disorders for their impact on animal welfare. Potentially, this leads to different prioritization of specific solution strategies for dairy farmers, for example, focusing on cow comfort, hygiene or preventive medical treatments, foot trimming and/or health monitoring. The findings in this study support in raising awareness about this welfare issue.

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Behaviour as a tool in the assessment of animal welfare

Cited by 233 publications

References 22 publications

Evaluation of behaviour in stabled draught horse foals fed diets with two protein levels

Evaluation of behaviour in stabled draught horse foals fed diets with two protein levels

Physiological and behavioral responses to routine procedures in captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus)

Assessing the welfare impact of foot disorders in dairy cattle by a modeling approach

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