Modern approaches to ensure the welfare of productive animals

Abstract

Animal welfare is a multifaceted issue of international and state policy, which requires a socio-economic, religious, and cultural approach, must consider international trade features, and must correspond to the vector of development of modern society. The new global plans and challenges of the animal protection community are to help feed the world healthily and sustainably that takes face the needs of people and is safe for animals. The protection and provision of animal welfare depend on the species differences of agricultural and productive animals, which are determined by physiological, biochemical, and behavioral factors, as well as on the differences between climatic zones, which are analyzed in the article. Modern animal husbandry systems must meet the latest knowledge about stress and be based on the science of ethology, comply with the concept of the “Five freedoms” of the welfare of productive animals, based on which a system of clear standards of animal welfare has been developed and implemented as a component of national and international public policy, commerce, and trade. However, animal welfare science continues to develop and deepen our understanding of the interaction between humankind and agricultural species by integrating ethological, physiological, and biochemical methods, methods of assessing the genotype, and its interaction with the environment into the systems for assessing the quality of animal welfare. The assessment includes measuring the artificial impact of farm conditions, microclimate, etc., on the general animal’s welfare and the interaction between individuals in the middle of a limited population. An important factor that has affected animal welfare recently is the restrictions introduced due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected feed supply chains, animal transportation, and limited access to high-quality veterinary services. In recent years, Ukraine has been actively implementing the international experience of animal welfare regulation into domestic legal acts. It continues harmonizing with the European Union's legal system, which covers animals' welfare during their keeping, transportation, and slaughter. A key element on the way to the practical application of the principles of animal welfare is the training of specialists – doctors of veterinary medicine, who would be aware of the importance and necessity of such approaches in their daily professional activities.