Effects of abrupt housing changes on the welfare of Piedmontese cows

Abstract

The Italian Piedmontese cattle breed is traditionally housed in tie-stalls and, to a lesser extent, in loose housing systems with free stalls. The present study has compared the same group of 15 cattle before and after stable renovation (tie-stall vs free-stall housing) funded by Regulation (EU) No. 1305/2013. All the animals remained healthy during the trial, no clinical signs were observed and no mastitis occurred. The tested parameters were: locomotion scoring system, salivary cortisol, blood parameters, serum acute phase protein (albumin, haptoglobin, serum amyloid A and lysozyme). Samples were collected 3 times: before the change (T1), 3 days later (T2), 40 days later (T3). The change in housing determined noteworthy variations in the stress parameters: albumin and total protein displayed the lowest value at T2, while lysozyme displayed the lowest value at T3. Among the App, SAA and Hp were not affected by the sampling time. Salivary cortisol displayed the highest value at T1. This study suggests that tie-stall housing can endanger the welfare of animals, and it is hoped that this farming system will be abandoned in the future. ARTICLE HISTORY

Invited review: The welfare of dairy cattle housed in tiestalls compared to less-restrictive housing types: A systematic review

“…The comparison between freestall and tiestall housing was less clear: 2 studies found improved locomotion scores in freestalls compared with tiestalls (Kara et al, 2011;Ostojić-Andrić et al, 2011), 3 found neutral effects (Wells et al, 1993;Olechnowicz et al, 2010;Popescu et al, 2014), and 2 found positive effects of tiestall housing (Cook, 2003 andSogstad et al, 2005). After a move from tiestalls to freestalls, Tarantola et al (2016) found no change in lameness. Enriquez-Hidalgo et al (2018) tracked locomotion scores as cattle transitioned from pasture, to tiestalls, and back, and noted that scores worsened after confinement.…”

“…Several of the affective states addressed were derived from the WQA protocol including "absence of prolonged hunger" (evaluated by means of BCS; Ostojić-Andrić et al, 2011;Popescu et al, 2013Popescu et al, , 2014, and good "human-animal relationship" (evaluated via avoidance distance; Mattiello et al, 2009;Popescu et al, 2013Popescu et al, , 2014. The theme of "comfort" [expressed as "cow comfort" (Haley et al, 2000), "comfort situation" (Tarantola et al, 2016), and"comfort around resting" (Plesch et al, 2010;Ostojić-Andrić et al, 2011;Popescu et al, 2013Popescu et al, , 2014] was addressed in 6 of the 14 studies. Stress, as measured by physiological parameters such as cortisol, was addressed in 7 studies (Varner et al, 1983;Redbo, 1992Redbo, , 1993Higashiyama et al, 2007;Veissier et al 2008;Tarantola et al, 2016;Peric et al, 2017).…”

The Disturbed Habitat and Its Effects on the Animal Population

“…The housing system could play an important role in cattle welfare [7]. Loose housing systems allow more freedom of movement than tether systems, also offering the animals the possibility of experiencing more natural social behaviors.…”

Beef cattle welfare assessment: use of resource and animal-based indicators, blood parameters and hair 20β-dihydrocortisol

“…With regards to tied Piemontese animals, the identification of higher 20b-dihydrocortisol values may suggest a potential effect of the housing system, as previously reported by Starvaggi Cucuzza (2014). Tarantola et al (2016), in the assessment of welfare of cows moving from a tied stall housing system to a free housing system, also observed that salivary cortisol levels were higher before the housing change, thus supporting the hypothesis that a tied stall housing system is a remarkable stress factor in adult cattle.…”