Invited review: Associations between variables of routine herd data and dairy cattle welfare indicators

Abstract

As farm animal welfare is high on the political and societal agendas of many countries, considerable pressure exists to establish audit programs in which farm animal welfare is routinely monitored. On-farm assessment of animal welfare, however, is time-consuming and costly. A promising strategy to monitor animal welfare more efficiently is to first estimate the level of animal welfare on a farm based on routine herd data that are available in national databases. It is not currently known which variables of routine herd data (VRHD) are associated with dairy cattle welfare indicators (WI). Our aim was to identify VRHD that are associated with WI in a literature review. The 27 VRHD used in this review included the main types of data that are currently collected in national herd databases of developed countries, and related to identification and registration, management, milk production, and reproduction of dairy herds. The 34 WI used in this review were based on the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol for Cattle. The search yielded associations in 146 studies. Twenty-three VRHD were associated with 16 WI. The VRHD that related to milk yield, culling, and reproduction were associated with the largest number of WI. Few associations were found for WI that referred to behavioral aspects of animal welfare, nonspecific disease symptoms, or resources-based indicators. For 18 WI, associations with VRHD were not significant (n=5 WI) or no studies were found that investigated associations with VRHD (n=13 WI). It was concluded that many VRHD have potential to estimate the level of animal welfare on dairy farms. As strengths of associations were not considered in this review, however, the true value of these VRHD should be further explored. Moreover, associations found at the animal level and in an experimental setting might not appear at the farm level and in common practice and should be investigated. Cross-sectional studies using integrated welfare scores at the farm level are needed to more accurately determine the potential of VRHD to estimate levels of animal welfare on dairy farms.

Welfare effects of a disease eradication programme for dairy goats

“…de Vries et al, 2011). For goats, recorded production variables were found to be unrelated to other animal-based welfare indicators (Muri et al, 2013), but we found significant differences in SCCs and milk yield between HG and non-HG herds in this study.…”

Current available strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in livestock systems: an animal welfare perspective

“…Less severe, but much more frequent and persistent, is SARA in which feed intake and performance may be suppressed. SARA is also associated with other health problems, such as inflammation (liver abscesses or laminitis) associated with pain (Plaizier et al, 2009) or bloat and displaced abomasum (Nocek, 1997;Enemark, 2008;De Vries et al, 2011). In beef cattle, the health problems associated with acidosis reduce productivity (e.g.…”

“…However, as already described by Rauw et al (1998) and Lawrence et al (2004), selective breeding for higher productivity can harm animal health and welfare unless balanced by selection pressure placed on functional traits. Genetic selection for high production efficiency can impair normal biological functioning (Oltenacu, 2009;De Vries et al, 2011;Fraser et al, 2013) and lead to numerous unexpected consequences (Table 1). A high genetic potential for mobilizing body energy reserves for production can have deleterious effects on health and fertility (Bell et al, 2011), as shown by the association between high milk production and an increased incidence of fertility problems and metabolic disorders such as ketosis in dairy cattle (Walsh et al, 2011).…”

Herd monitoring to optimise fertility in the dairy cow: making the most of herd records, metabolic profiling and ultrasonography (research into practice)

“…Fertility KPIs as indicators of animal welfare Fertility KPIs may also be indicators of animal welfare (de Vries et al, 2011). Specifically the 120-day in-calf rate and the percentage of heifers not mated by 17 months of age, have been suggested as indicators of poor animal welfare in a herd (Nyman et al, 2011).…”