Impact of a Local Government Funded Free Cat Sterilization Program for Owned and Semi-Owned Cats.

In most states of Australia, local governments (councils) are responsible for the enforcement of legislation relating to domestic cats. Traditional methods used for cat management based on trap-adopt or euthanize programs have been ineffective, with cat-related calls and cat impoundments continuing to increase, resulting in many healthy cats being euthanized. This has detrimental effects on the mental health of animal management officers, staff in shelters and council facilities, and cat caregivers. The city of Banyule, Victoria, implemented a free cat sterilization, microchipping, and registration (licensing) program in 2013/14. Initially, it was targeted at three low-socioeconomic suburbs with the highest cat-related calls and intake, and was microtargeted at call locations. An average of 4.1 cats/1000 residents per year were sterilized over eight years. The program included stray cats being fed by caregivers, provided they took ownership. The program was later expanded city-wide. Over eight years, city-wide cat intake decreased by 66%, euthanasia by 82%, and cats reclaimed by owners increased from 6% of intake (2012/13) to 16% (2020/21). Cat-related calls decreased in the target area by 51%, and city-wide by 36%. The council realized cost savings of AU $440,660 associated with reduced costs for cat-related calls to council (AU $137,170) and charges from the contracted welfare agency (AU $303,490), for an outlay of AU $77,490 for sterilization costs. Instead of the traditional management of urban cats, proactive management based on targeted sterilization should be utilized by government and animal welfare agencies in Australia and internationally. These types of programs are effective at reducing cat intake and euthanasia and are cost-effective.

A Trial of a Virtual Fence to Mitigate Roadkill on an Unsealed Rural Road in Tasmania, Australia.

A commercial roadkill Virtual Fence (VF) mitigation device (iPTE Traffic Solutions) was used in a field trial to test its effectiveness, for which previously published results have been inconsistent, along a 4.9 km segment of road on Bruny Island, Tasmania. A total of 585 days of monitoring roadkill by species was conducted, with six sections that were alternatively switched on or off according to the Crossover and Multiple Before-After-Control-Impact (MBACI) experimental designs that divided monitoring into "off-on" then "on-off" periods. Aggregate counts, for each period by section combination, from daily counts of Tasmanian pademelons (Thylogale billardierii) were modelled, with a total count of 222. The statistical analysis used the MBACI design to estimate the VF effect using a log-odds ratio parameter (LORP) while accounting for local spatio-temporal effects. Both versions of the analysis, either averaged over the three spatial replicates (paired sections) or two temporal replicates (blocks), showed no statistically significant effect of the VF, judged as an LORP estimate not sufficiently below zero. Corresponding percentage reduction estimates of 9% and 16% were derived from the LORP. The corresponding statistical power required to detect a nominal significant reduction of 50% in rate was 0.5 and 0.6, respectively. This study confirms the results from a similar previous field trial in southern Tasmania that this VF is likely to lead to, if anything, only a minor reduction in roadkill.

A novel corporate-community partnership model provides safe housing for pets of domestic violence victims.

OBJECTIVE: To document and evaluate a novel partnership model of a safekeeping program for pets owned by domestic violence victims between May 1, 2021, and June 1, 2023. ANIMALS: 19 animals referred to the program. METHODS: Procedures for identification, intake, medical and behavioral needs, and shelter of pets belonging to domestic violence victims were established and cases reviewed over the program's initial 2 years. RESULTS: 13 dogs and 6 cats belonging to 13 owners were referred to the program. Seven dogs and 1 cat were placed into foster housing. Most pets were intact. One pet had medical concerns at intake (cardiac disease and seizures). Five pets were returned to their owners after an average stay of 5.3 weeks. Two pets were rehomed to new owners. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Veterinarians are likely to encounter pets affected by domestic violence and may be mandatory reporters in some states. This paper will aid veterinarians and community partners to understand the challenges and pet types they are likely to encounter and how best to assist.

Physical and behavioural health of dogs belonging to homeless people.

Homeless persons with dogs are often the subject of stigma, with the public criticising them for not having a proper lifestyle to care for a pet. There is solid documentation of how dogs enhance a homeless person's life, but there are few publications that address the welfare of the dog. This descriptive study assesses the physical and behavioural health of dogs belonging to homeless persons through a One Welfare lens by observing animal/human well-being, environment, and "a life worth living". A survey was carried out along with a visual assessment of the condition of the dog for 100 human-dog dyads in the Western United States. Results showed that dogs of homeless persons were well cared for and physically healthy (which was consistent with other studies), and had few behavioural problems, but did display evidence of separation distress while the owner was away. Results from this study can provide information that may lead to policy and practice changes, including, for example, changes to policies and practices prohibiting dogs from being kept with their owner while staying at a homeless shelter. Typically, shelters report that they do not have the resources to care for a person with a dog.

Naturally acquired immunity to Plasmodium pitheci in Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus).

Naturally acquired immunity to the different types of malaria in humans occurs in areas of endemic transmission and results in asymptomatic infection of peripheral blood. The current study examined the possibility of naturally acquired immunity in Bornean orangutans, Pongo pygmaeus, exposed to endemic Plasmodium pitheci malaria. A total of 2140 peripheral blood samples were collected between January 2017 and December 2022 from a cohort of 135 orangutans housed at a natural forested Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre in West Kalimantan, Indonesia. Each individual was observed for an average of 4.3 years during the study period. Blood samples were examined by microscopy and polymerase chain reaction for the presence of plasmodial parasites. Infection rates and parasitaemia levels were measured among age groups and all 20 documented clinical malaria cases were reviewed to estimate the incidence of illness and risk ratios among age groups. A case group of all 17 individuals that had experienced clinical malaria and a control group of 34 individuals having an event of >2000 parasites µL−1 blood but with no outward or clinical sign of illness were studied. Immature orangutans had higher-grade and more frequent parasitaemia events, but mature individuals were more likely to suffer from clinical malaria than juveniles. The case orangutans having patent clinical malaria were 256 times more likely to have had no parasitaemia event in the prior year relative to asymptomatic control orangutans. The findings are consistent with rapidly acquired immunity to P. pitheci illness among orangutans that wanes without re-exposure to the pathogen.

Challenges in Sheltering Seized Animals from Hoarders from a One Welfare Perspective.

Animal hoarding is a complex issue that, when discovered, frequently necessitates opening shelter doors to many animals. This is due to hoarders' inability to provide even the most basic welfare standards for their animals, resulting in poor welfare conditions that frequently border on mistreatment. These people are frequently unaware of their failure to care for their animals, as well as of the harm that they cause to people around them and the environment. They usually do not care for themselves either. The majority of hoarders have difficult histories, and they all need help getting back on track. When the agencies discover the status quo, the animals are usually seized and taken to shelters, where they face a variety of welfare consequences, beginning with confinement in an unknown environment that is associated with additional risks (e.g., infectious diseases, behavioral deterioration, and distress). Furthermore, the targeted shelters are frequently overcrowded and cannot adequately accommodate the large numbers of animals found in hoarders' environments. The One Welfare approach, which is increasingly being used alongside One Health to work at the intersection of human and animal health and welfare, could be adopted to benefit animals while also addressing the poor states of humans. This concept's depiction of the interconnections between animal welfare, human well-being, and the environment can fit with all the components of the animal-hoarding phenomenon, including the peculiarities of the hoarding environment, as well as those of shelters where animals are often moved. The purpose of this paper is to offer insights into how the One Welfare concept may be critical in tackling all of the interests concerned in these cases and offering solutions.

Solutions-Based Approach to Urban Cat Management-Case Studies of a One Welfare Approach to Urban Cat Management.

Urban free-roaming cats create concern about their impacts on wildlife and human health, leading to the use of trap-adopt-kill methods to manage these populations. This method is ineffective at decreasing the free-roaming cat population and has a negative impact on cat caregivers' well-being. Using semi-structured interviews, this study explored the relationship that semi-owners (people who feed cats but do not perceive ownership) and owners of multiple cats have with the cats they care for, and the social and psychological impacts of an alternative assistive-centered approach to urban cat management. This approach to semi-owned and owned cats provided free sterilization and preventative healthcare. Our findings demonstrate that the caregivers had a strong emotional bond with the cats they cared for. The caregivers also experienced a positive impact on their quality of life, and indicated an improvement in the cats' welfare after having the cats sterilized through this program. Additionally, the cat caregivers indicated that they had a negative view of agencies, such as the municipal council. It is recommended that an assistive-centered approach to urban cat management be prioritized by local councils and welfare agencies to improve caregivers' quality of life and psychological well-being, whilst also improving cat welfare. The implementation of this assistive-centered management approach could improve the relationship between communities and the agencies involved, leading to the continuous reporting of free-roaming cats for sterilization. This assistive-centered approach has the potential to reduce the free-roaming cat population, their effects on wildlife, nuisance complaints, and council impoundments, and is aligned with the One Welfare philosophy.

Use of soybean as an alternative protein source for welfare-orientated production of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis).

Soybean meal based diets have been suggested to cause gastrointestinal issues in certain species when used as a protein alternative. Using a randomized design, we tested 1,728 alligators in one of 13 communal pens offered one of two diets (seven pens (n = 928) of soybean-based protein diets and six pens (n = 800) of animal-based protein diets) to determine if soybeans would negatively affect the growth, hide quality, behavior and health, when compared with an otherwise identical diet using animal-based protein. Both feeds were nearly identical in composition for protein and fat percentages and identical for all minerals and elements. Crude protein was a minimum of 50%, crude fat a minimum of 12%, crude fiber a minimum of 4%, and phosphorous was maintained at 1%. From this information we estimated the One Welfare of using soy as a protein in commercial diets. Although there was a statistically significant decrease in belly width (p = 0.0009; harvested hide size) for alligators fed soybean-based protein diets, all other measured parameters of soybean vs. animal-based protein diets were comparable, suggesting this environmentally sustainable alternative protein source warrants consideration as a feed base. Weight was not significantly different suggesting either diet would yield similar volumes of meat. Total length was significantly affected by diet. Hide quality was not negatively impacted by protein type, with both diets producing high quality hides free of defects (assessed at the salted hide stage prior to tanning). Behaviors were not influenced by the feed type, with animals fed either diet using the pen structures the same. Further, feeding times were the same suggesting the soybean-based protein diet was equally easy to eat and palatable as the animal-based protein diet. Behavior and feeding suggested soy-based diets do not alter time budgets or activities. There were no differences in the frequency or severity of pathologies for animals fed either diet. Respiratory (lung and trachea as a proxy to measure dust inhalation), gastrointestinal (small intestine as a proxy to measure digestive disturbances), and renal (kidney as a proxy for excretory stress) histopathology demonstrated neither diet was causing overt problems. One Welfare conclusions were feeding a soybean-based protein diet did not cause production or welfare issues. Further, soybean protein-based diets may be an environmentally sustainable alternative to currently used animal-based diets. Research examining different soybean protein concentrations and sources is warranted.

Human Injuries Associated with the Transport of Horses by Road.

There is an increased understanding of shared human-animal risk in terms of "one welfare", whereby when animals are at risk, so are people, so preventing injury to one species may also prevent injury to the other. Because transport-related injuries to horses are common, the authors considered this paradigm to study road equine transport-related injuries to humans in New Zealand. The aim was to determine their frequency and associated factors by distributing a survey to horse industry participants through industry organisations asking about their horse activities, road transport experiences, and any related self-injury. There were 112/1067 (10.5%) handlers injured while preparing (13/112), loading (39/112), traveling (6/112), or unloading (33/112). Of these, 40% had multiple injury types, and 33% had several body regions affected. Hand injuries were most common (46%), followed by the foot (25%), arm (17%), and head or face (15%). Median recovery time was 7 days. Injuries were associated with the responder's industry educational background, years of driving experience, and reporting a horse injured during road transport in the past two years. Wearing helmets and gloves, and adopting strategies designed to eliminate equine injuries associated with the road transport of horses to reduce the risk of injury to their handlers are recommended.

Investigating the Market Value of Brumbies (Equus caballus) in the Australian Riding Horse Market.

Feral horses, also known as brumbies, are widely distributed across Australia with some populations being managed largely by human intervention. Rehoming of suitable feral horses following passive trapping has wide community acceptance as a management tool. However, there is little information about the number and relative economic value of feral horses compared with cohorts in the riding horse market. We examined 15,404 advertisements of horses for sale in 53 editions of Horse Deals, published from February 2017 to July 2022. Despite the considerable media attention and public scrutiny surrounding feral horse management, rehomed feral horses represented only a tiny fraction of the horse market in the current study. Of the 15,404 advertisements examined, only 128 (0.0083%) were for feral horses. We recorded phrases used to describe behavioural characteristics and other variables. The following variables were found to be not independent: Ridden Status, Height, Age, Sex, Colour, and Warning terms/more work. Using descriptive statistics to describe basic features of the data, the average price for feral horses ($1408) was lower than that for domestic horses ($1790) with the maximum price for a domestic horse being nearly twice the maximum for a feral horse. Univariate analysis showed feral horses were over-represented among "Unbroken" horses and underrepresented among "Ridden", "Broodmare" and "Harness" horses compared with domestic bred horses (p < 0.001). Feral horses appeared over-represented at shorter heights, among younger age groups (3 years or younger and 3.1 to 6 years) (p < 0.001) and in the dilute colour category (p = 0.008). The multivariable mixed model on price revealed that for domestic horses, the highest estimated marginal mean price averaged across the colour categories was for ridden horses aged 6.1-10-year-old at $1657.04 (95% CI $1320.56-$2074.66). In contrast, for feral horses, the multivariable mixed model demonstrated the similar highest estimated marginal mean averaged was for green broken 3-6-year-old horses that have undergone foundation training under saddle at $2526.97 (95% CI $1505.63-$4208.27). Australian feral horses were valued differently tfromsimilar domestic horses in the recreational riding horse market and further research is warranted to determine appropriate target markets and boost the sustainability of rehoming as a feral horse management tool.

Bonded labour and donkey ownership in the brick kilns of India: A need for reform of policy and practice.

Slavery, in the form of 'debt-bondage', is rife in Indian brick kilns, where the enforcement of labour laws is poor. Working equids support brick-kiln workers by transporting raw bricks into the kilns, but the situation of equids and their owners within the brick kilns is relatively unknown. We describe the welfare of donkeys (Equus asinus) owned under conditions of debt-bondage, examine the links between owner and donkey behaviour, and outline the living conditions of both donkeys and humans working in the brick kilns of Gujarat, India. We then explore the unique experience of debt-bondage by donkey owners, compare migration trends to those of non-donkey-owning workers and assess impacts on their children's education. The physical and behavioural conditions of donkeys reflected that of their owners, creating negative feedback loops and potentially reducing productivity. All donkey owners experienced debt-bondage and were particularly vulnerable to unexpected financial loss. Donkey owners, unlike non-owners, migrated within their home state, enabling their children to attend school. Our work highlights the need for policy reform within the brick-kiln industry to acknowledge the pivotal role of working donkeys in supporting human livelihoods.

A One Welfare approach to identify socioeconomic vulnerability in families during investigations into companion animal abuse in Pinhais, Brazil.

A One Welfare approach allows intervention to resolve problems related to the human-animal-environment interface. However, in Brazil and many other countries, there is poor communication between human and animal welfare services. In this research we considered a One Welfare approach in cases of abuse involving dogs and cats. When investigating pet abuse, professionals from the Animal Welfare Division of Pinhais, Brazil, can enter the home environment. During routine animal abuse investigations, the demographic profile of pet owners and their socioeconomic vulnerability was also recorded. Results from forty-five cases with (n = 30) and without (n = 15) suspicion of socioeconomic vulnerability were sent to the Department of Social Assistance of Pinhais, Brazil for confirmation. Socioeconomic vulnerability was suspected if socioeconomic problems were reported by the pet owners under investigation or their neighbours, as well by assessment of the socioeconomic environment of the families during home visits. Economic disadvantage was the most prevalent socioeconomic vulnerability. Cohen's Kappa coefficients support the ability of animal welfare service professionals to detect socioeconomic vulnerability. Almost half of all families considered to have socioeconomic vulnerability had not previously participated in social programmes. In all cases involving families already being assisted by the Department of Social Assistance, pets were found to be suffering abuse. Families with socioeconomic vulnerability confirmed were included in the social programmes. These results support the need for a multi-disciplinary approach to improve the well-being of families with dogs and cats. This study can help guide the development of an interdisciplinary approach to address animal abuse cases.

Expanding the role of the future zoo: Wellbeing should become the fifth aim for modern zoos.

Zoos and aquariums have an enormous global reach and hence an ability to craft meaningful conservation action for threatened species, implement educational strategies to encourage human engagement, development and behavior change, and conduct scientific research to enhance the husbandry, roles and impacts of the living collection. The recreational role of the zoo is also vast- people enjoy visiting the zoo and this is often a shared experience amongst family and friends. Evaluating how the zoo influences this "captive audience" and extending its reach to include a compassionate approach to animals and people can further enhance the mission, value, and relevance of their work. The modern zoo's current aims-Conservation, Education, Research and Recreation-provide useful foundations for the activities that zoos conduct at a local and national level. However, to improve sustainability of their actions and outcomes, we feel that Wellbeing should become the fifth aim of the modern zoo for the future- both from an animal perspective (ensuring that populations are managed according to prevailing behavioral needs) and from a human perspective (enhancing access to nature, promoting planetary friendly behavior changes and ways of living, and advancing the wellbeing of the zoo's workforce). This paper provides discussion and review of how Wellbeing is already a substantial part of what zoos work on as well as posing the idea of altering the Recreation aim of the zoo to one of Engagement, which potentially is more measurable and therefore can allow zoo researchers and managers further options for the collection of evidence on the local and global reach of their zoo's aims. Education, Engagement, Conservation, Research and Wellbeing provide a more complete picture of the roles of the modern zoo for the animals (both in situ and ex situ), human visitors and workforce, and to society more widely.

Reasons for Guardian-Relinquishment of Dogs to Shelters: Animal and Regional Predictors in British Columbia, Canada.

Dogs are relinquished to animal shelters for animal-related or guardian-related reasons. Understanding what drives relinquishment patterns is essential for informing intervention opportunities to keep animals with their guardians. Whereas, overall reasons for relinquishment in a given shelter system have been well explored, analysis of human and animal predictors of relinquishing for a specific reason has not been previously attempted. We used characteristics of relinquishment including year, population of the relinquishing guardian's region, health status of the dog, breed, age group, weight, and sex to predict reasons for dog relinquishment to British Columbia (BC) Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) shelters across BC between 2008 and 2019 (n = 32,081). Relinquishment trends for puppies and adult dogs were also viewed and described. From 2008-2019, the proportion of dogs relinquished relative to total intake remained consistent (range: 31-35%). Primary reasons reported by guardians were having too many dogs (19%), housing issues (17%), personal issues (15%), financial issues (10%), dog behavior (10%), and guardian health (8%). Over years, an increasing proportion of dogs were relinquished for the reason "too many" (OR = 1.16, 95% CI, 1.10-1.23, p < 0.001) and "behavior" (OR = 1.34, 95% CI, 1.26-1.43, p < 0.001), while a decreasing proportion were relinquished due to financial problems (OR = 0.94, 95% CI, 0.88-1.00, p = 0.047). Being a puppy, mixed breed, small, and from a small or medium population center predicted the reason "too many." Being a senior, Healthy, or from a medium or large population center predicted the reason "housing issues." Being a non-puppy, Healthy dog in a large population center predicted the reason "personal issues." Being a puppy, non-Healthy, female, and from a large population center predicted the reason "financial issues." Being a larger young adult or adult and Healthy predicted the reason "dog behavior." Being an adult or senior small dog from a small population center predicted the reason "guardian health." Particularly promising region-specific intervention opportunities include efforts to prevent too many animals in small population centers, improvement of pet-inclusive housing in large population centers, and providing animal care support in large population centers. Accessible veterinary services, including low-cost or subsidized care, likely benefit dog retention across BC.

Animal Abuse as an Indicator of Domestic Violence: One Health, One Welfare Approach.

For years now, the importance of animal cruelty has been gaining recognition in the industrialized cities of the West. Animal cruelty encompasses any act that causes a non-human animal unnecessary pain or suffering, including negligence, abandonment, abuse, torture, bestiality, and even theriocide. This represents a red flag for society as a whole because people who commit such acts can escalate violence and direct it to other individuals. Animal cruelty and interpersonal violence-as well as other socially undesirable conduct such as bullying, antisocial personality disorder, rape, and serial murder-are closely related, so timely diagnoses of either one can help prevent acts of aggression. It is necessary, therefore, to analyze and try to understand whether there are early indicators that may help identify potentially violent individuals. It is well known that kids from homes with actual violence in their homes show a high tendency to reproduce such behaviors with both animals and other people. In conclusion, much research and rethinking of the importance of the veterinarian in detecting animal abuse and cruelty is needed to help detect and prevent cases of interpersonal violence that may arise over time.

Inequitable Flow of Animals in and Out of Shelters: Comparison of Community-Level Vulnerability for Owner-Surrendered and Subsequently Adopted Animals.

There is increasing awareness among animal shelter professionals regarding the role of shelters in perpetuating inequities in pet ownership, although the relationship between owner vulnerabilities and animal shelter services is largely understudied. Currently, there is no literature comparing the sociodemographic conditions of communities where surrendered animals originate and communities where they are adopted. The present study compared the "flow" of surrendered animals between originating communities (incoming) and communities where they were adopted (outgoing; n = 21,270). To analyze community-level vulnerability, we used the Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation (CIMD), which has four dimensions of social vulnerability. We found that three of the four CIMD dimensions were significantly different between surrendering and adopting communities (Ethnocultural Composition, Situational Vulnerability (SV), Economic Dependency, but not Residential Instability). For further investigation, we also grouped our analysis by intake groups (small animal n = 2,682; puppy n = 973; dog n = 3,446; kitten n = 6,436; cat n= 7,733) and found multiple relationships for which the incoming and outgoing CIMD quintiles were different. For example, for both puppies and kittens, the median outgoing SV quintile ranks were statistically significantly lower (less vulnerable) than incoming quintile ranks, with the effect size being moderate (puppy r = 0.31, kitten r = 0.30; p ≤ 0.0025), supporting the concern of the flow of certain animals from more vulnerable to less vulnerable communities. The results of this research provide a basis for understanding potential inequities in the use of shelter services to surrender or adopt an animal. Furthermore, these methods allow animal shelters to assess community needs and create interventions to reduce intake and increase adoption of animals. Finally, these data provide further support that animal sheltering is best considered from a One Welfare perspective.

Animal Welfare and Farmers' Satisfaction in Small-Scale Dairy Farms in the Eastern Alps: A "One Welfare" Approach.

The multidimensional concept of animal welfare includes physical health, good emotional state, and appropriate behavior of the animals. The most recent methods for its assessment are inspired by the Welfare Quality, a project compiling animal-, resource-, and management-based measures. Recently, animal welfare assessment has also considered the human factor in a so-called "One Welfare" approach. The One Welfare framework highlights the interconnections between animal welfare, human well-being, and the environment. The concept seems to fit particularly well to mountain areas where the relationship between human, animals, and the environment is stronger. In such disadvantaged areas, farmers' well-being plays a key role in maintaining livestock farming profitably and sustainably. This study aims to investigate the relationship between farmers' satisfaction, animal welfare outcomes, and overall farm performance in 69 small-scale dairy farms in the Eastern Alps. Animal welfare assessment consisted of animal-based measures and was performed using the methodology proposed by the European Food Safety Authority for this type of farm. Moreover, the farmers were interviewed to retrieve data on farm characteristics and on their level of satisfaction toward workload, land organization, relationship with the agricultural/non-agricultural community, and the future of local agriculture. The results show that good animal welfare can be obtained in a mountain farming system. Clinical indicators show a low prevalence of diseases and of very lean cows as opposed to integument alterations. The workload is not perceived as a problem in traditional farms (i.e., tie-stall and with no participation in quality-certification schemes). Animal welfare is higher in those farms where farmers have a positive engagement with both the agricultural and non-agricultural community and where farmers are satisfied with their land organization. A One Welfare approach could be applied on a larger scale to fully understand the links between animal and human well-being in mountain areas.

Sustainability of Rearing System Using Multicriteria Analysis: Application in Commercial Poultry Production.

The aim of the present study was to develop a multicriteria model for the comparison of three commercial poultry farms: organic with Ross 308 genotype (OR), organic with Naked Neck genotype (ONN) and a conventional system (C), which represents the most common commercial farming system. A model based on multicriteria decision analysis was developed, considering for the first time the One Welfare approach in an operational manner, including three dimensions: human, environmental and animal welfare. The three alternatives demonstrated different performances, according to the different dimensions considered. In particular, the two organic systems performed better for human welfare and animal welfare, with relevant differences due to the genetic strains used. Conventional rearing performed better for the environment index due to the method chosen. The multicriteria analysis showed that the organic system performed better overall than the conventional system. In particular, the use of an adapted Slow Growing (SG) strain positively affected the final rank, mainly by reducing welfare problems and producing good economic and social performance. The stability of the results was verified by performing a sensitivity analysis, specifically a weight stability analysis, which confirmed the strength of results.