The most important dilemmas regarding the welfare of farm animals

Abstract

In this review paper, contradictions in modern livestock production as dilemmas of farm animal welfare are considered. The main dilemma concerns the question of whether extensive production in small farms is generally better than intensive production in large farms. The next dilemma relates to an intensive selection of animals and its impact on the emergence of welfare problems. Another dilemma is related to the two main interconnected problems of pig welfare in individual farrowing pens: the piglet death by crushing and the sows' movement restriction. Similarly, welfare dilemma is the paradox of parent flocks of broiler line breeding that could not be solved until the pressure for genetic advancement in production is required due to the economic efficiency. The next example of the dilemma is the widespread practice of tail docking in piglets in order to reduce the risk of tail biting. Although the tail docking is painful and may cause death, anaesthesia is usually not applied on farms. A similar example of the dilemma is debeaking in the laying hens and the occurrence of feather pecking in free rearing systems. It is important to notice the difference between the described dilemmas, where one premise opposes the other, which is essentially a conflict between the animal welfare goals and other values, such as economic, ethical and moral issues. Finally, there are also some dilemmas about the consumers' willingness to pay a higher price of products that originate from welfare friendly rearing conditions.

Hygiene Procedures Before, During and After Cow Milking

“…Premilking hygienic procedures must be carried out regularly and properly. Detailed reviews of failures in carrying out hygienic procedures during the milking of cows are given in the paper by Hristov et al (2017). One of the most important procedures is the hygiene of the milker's hands.…”

“…Milkers should familiarize themselves with the most important aspects in the application of cow udder disinfection , the disinfection of udders and milking equipment (Hristov et al, 1995), as well as the disinfection of cow udders before and aft er milking (Hristov et al, 1997). It is very important to carry out a regular assessment of cow, udder, and teat hygiene (Reneau et al, 2005;Cook and Reinemann, 2007;Hristov et al, 2017). Also, it should be borne in mind that the premilking test is an essential procedure that detects abnormalities in milk, and the fi rst signs of clinical mastitis, removes the contaminated residual milk from the teat canal, and activates the oxytocin refl ex thereby achieving a good milk fl ow during milking (Hristov et al, 2017;Mihajlović et al, 2022).…”

Sexual maturity as risk for development of deviant behaviours in pig production systems with entire males

“…Extensive rearing systems pigs to express their natural behaviour, but the implementation of specific disease control and biosecurity measures, and poor management efficiency give priority to intensive rearing systems. Considering the welfare of pigs, contradictions and dilemmas exist in these different rearing systems (Hristov et al, 2019).…”

Anthropogenic suffering of farmed animals: the other side of zoonoses

“…Yet an individualized system would not be economically viable: it would greatly diminish productivity, drive up the already subsidized price of meat and reduce output (Grandin 2020;Broeks et al 2020). This illustrates the inherent contradiction between animal welfare and financial considerations throughout the production process (Dawkins 2017;Hristov et al 2019). The trade-off makes it impossible for the animal production industry to operate without causing physical and psychological suffering to the vast number of animals killed every day (Fernández-Mateo & Franco-Barrera 2020; Zampa 2020).…”

“…Free-range farms (Mickelson 2016) make up a negligible proportion of animal-based food product sources and are very far from being able to meet the current demand from the steadily growing human population. Nor can they ensure the elimination of all the other forms of animal suffering prevalent in the industry (Hristov et al 2019). Even when the confinement is not to narrow cages, the overcrowding, absence of fresh air and natural sunlight, lack of outdoor access and the inability to express natural behaviors continue to cause suffering (Mellor 2019).…”