Hauliers' perceptions and attitudes towards farm animal welfare could influence the operational and logistics practices in sheep transport

Abstract

A survey of Mexico-based sheep hauliers was conducted in order to investigate perceptions and attitudes toward farm animal welfare (FAW) and their influence on operational and logistic practices (OLPs) in sheep transportation. The statistical analysis consisted in the application of 2-factor analyses (OLP and animal welfare attitudes), additionally a cluster analysis; the latter allowed a segmentation of hauliers according to their attitudes and OLP. The factor analysis gave 3 OLP factors: logistic issues, economic losses, and welfare losses. In the case of factor analyses about animal welfare attitudes, we obtained 4 factors: training and regulations, animal needs, welfare improvement, and sensibility. The cluster analysis of this study showed the existence of 3 haulier profiles; these were "efficient and concerned," "efficient and not concerned," and "not efficient and concerned." Our results showed that hauliers' perceptions had a clear influence on the performance of their operative and logistic activities during the sheep transportation. This study highlights the individual hauliers' risk factors which can be considered to improve not only animal welfare but also indicates the need to consider the transportation as a whole because of potential factor combinations and confusions. The attitudes of sheep hauliers toward FAW are a strategic component that requires being considered when hauliers are trained. If it can be shown that modifying hauliers' attitudes leads to improved OLP, then there is an opportunity to develop specific training programs to modify certain haulier's animal welfare attitudes, with a subsequent improvement of sheep welfare.

Association between Attitude and Empathy with the Quality of Human-Livestock Interactions

“…In our study, handlers that generally had positive attitude and empathy scores were associated with a significant decrease in the number of negative tactile interactions, such as prodding and shouting; results that coincided with those reported by other researchers in studies on dairy farms [36,37] and extensive beef cattle systems [8]. Likewise, a study evaluating the attitudes of Japanese workers toward cows found that handlers with high positive attitude scores had a greater tendency to exhibit more positive tactile behavior (e.g., petting), and less to encourage and implement effective methods for improving attitudes, such as providing livestock handlers with new information, creating stimuli, constantly reinforcing the need to treat the animals well [8,38], and promoting actions that increase job satisfaction [39], among others.…”

Transporters knowledge toward preslaughter logistic chain and occupational risks in Mexico: An integrative view with implications on sheep welfare

“…Safe and humane livestock transportation carries important public and trade concerns worldwide because of its potential negative consequences on economics, animal health and welfare, food quality, and safety (González et al, 2012). Transporters play a crucial role in delivering live and healthy animals to their destinations on time, despite long journeys and irregular driving schedules (Pulido et al, 2018). Surprisingly, we know little about how transporters influence animal welfare.…”

“…The survey period was from May to September 2016. The first article in this series study the transporters perceptions and attitudes toward animal welfare and their influence in logistics practices in sheep transport (see Pulido et al, 2018), and this article integrates the knowledge of transporters about Mexican preslaughter logistic chain and occupational risks and its impact on sheep welfare. In Mexico, sheep are slaughtered, and meat is processed in the central area of the country, mostly because of the high demand in Hidalgo and Mexico City where sheep meat is consumed as a traditional dish called "barbacoa".…”

Review of Livestock Welfare Indicators Relevant for the Australian Live Export Industry

“…Experience, skills and stock handler skills are likely to vary greatly between sectors of the LEI supply chain, while there are also different attitudes towards livestock handling across the globe [ 46 , 47 , 48 ]. The staff and the time available to carry out animal welfare assessments will therefore vary across the chain and needs to be considered when designing protocols.…”