Welfare Assessment on Pasture: A Review on Animal-Based Measures for Ruminants

Abstract

Outdoor and extensive farming systems allow animals to behave in a natural way and are often perceived as welfare friendly. Nonetheless, the natural environment poses multiple challenges to the welfare of animals, sometimes hampering their capacity to cope. Welfare assessment in outdoor and extensive systems has been rarely investigated, and little is known about the most appropriate indicators. The aim of this review was to identify animal-based measures of welfare to apply in extensive and pasture-based systems in domestic ruminants. Through the use of a dedicated software for systematic reviews, 810 papers were screened and a total of 52 papers were retained for in-depth analysis. ABM resulting from these papers were initially divided according to the species (cattle and small ruminants, including sheep and goats) and then to four principles: comfort, behavior, feeding and health. The results showed that welfare data were collected applying different methodologies, with an increasing use of sensors in recent years. The need to herd and restrain animals for individual data collection is one of the major constraints to data collection in extensive farming systems. It is suggested that welfare assessment in outdoor/extensive farming systems is carried out by following shared procedures in order to provide evidence of the higher animal welfare claims that these products often imply compared to indoor systems.

Developing an Animal Welfare Assessment Protocol for Cows in Extensive Beef Cow–Calf Systems in New Zealand. Part 1: Assessing the Feasibility of Identified Animal Welfare Assessment Measures

“…Many measures can potentially be used to assess the welfare of cattle at pasture (e.g., [ 21 ]). However, if a measure is to be used in an assessment programme it must be repeatable and comparable across operations in similar production systems [ 5 , 22 ] and it must be achievable within a limited time frame alongside other assessments [ 5 , 6 , 23 ].…”

Long-Term Feeding of Dairy Goats with Broccoli By-Product and Artichoke Plant Silages: Milk Yield, Quality and Composition

“… C: Control diet; BB: Diet that includes broccoli by-product silage; AP: Diet that includes artichoke plant silage; DM: Dry matter; FM: Fresh matter; OM: Organic matter; CP: Crude protein; CF: Crude fibre; NDF: Neutral detergent fibre; ADF: Acid detergent fibre; ADL: Acid detergent lignin; EE: Ether extract; TPs: Total polyphenols; IVDMD: In vitro dry matter digestibility; ME: Metabolisable energy; VFAs: Volatile fatty acids. 1 [ 24 ]. …”

Evaluation of Animal Welfare in Extensive and Intensive Dairy Farms and its Correlation to Infectious Diseases

“…In the past half-century, animal production systems have undergone a radical transformation that has led to decrease the concentration of large herds in fewer specialized intensive farms, keeping animals in indoor housing system [10]. Housing cattle indoors year-round reduces labour inputs, facilitates the administration of high-energy diets and increases milk yield without growing farm size.…”