Trade-offs in the externalities of pig production are not inevitable.

Farming externalities are believed to co-vary negatively, yet trade-offs have rarely been quantified systematically. Here we present data from UK and Brazilian pig production systems representative of most commercial systems across the world ranging from 'intensive' indoor systems through to extensive free range, Organic and woodland systems to explore co-variation among four major externality costs. We found that no specific farming type was consistently associated with good performance across all domains. Generally, systems with low land use have low greenhouse gas emissions but high antimicrobial use and poor animal welfare, and vice versa. Some individual systems performed well in all domains but were not exclusive to any particular type of farming system. Our findings suggest that trade-offs may be avoidable if mitigation focuses on lowering impacts within system types rather than simply changing types of farming.

Assessment of animal welfare in fattening pig farms certified in good livestock practices.

Commercial swine producers are responsible for implementing changes in their production systems to ensure animal welfare. The objective of this study is to evaluate the levels of animal welfare on rearing and fattening farms certified in good animal husbandry practices using the Welfare Quality® protocol. Eighty-one certified commercial farms (n = 2,150 pigs), distributed in six geographical areas of Colombia, were evaluatedby six trained veterinarians. . A multilevel analysis was performed to identify variables associated with the animal welfare/farm rating and to identify behavioral variables. Farms evaluated had an enhanced (n = 68, 83.9%), followed by excellent (n = 7, 8.7%) and acceptable (n = 6, 7.4%) level of animal welfare. Variables significantly associated with the overall protocol rating (R2 = 0.37) were temperature comfort (OR: 1.05, p = 0.008), absence of disease (OR: 1.06, p = 0.02) and absence of pain (OR: 1.06, p = 0.0001). Significant differences in behavioral measures were observed across farms (P < 0.05). The high animal welfare scores of certified farms suggest changes in producers' understanding and attitudes towards production and animal welfare.

Exploring uses for an algorithmically generated Animal Welfare Indicator for welfare assessment of dairy herds.

On-farm welfare assessment is time-consuming and costly. Assessing welfare using routinely collected herd data has been proposed as a more economical alternative. The online Animal Welfare Indicator (AWI), developed by a Norwegian dairy cooperative, applies an algorithm to routinely collected health, production, and management data to "indicate" aspects of animal welfare at herd level. The overall AWI score is based on 10 AWI subindicator scores, representative of elements of animal welfare such as claw health, udder health, and mortality. Our cross-sectional study explored 2 ways in which the AWI may enable more efficient welfare assessment of Norwegian dairy herds. First, we investigated using the AWI to reduce the duration of on-farm assessments by replacing on-farm measures. Second, we examined reducing the number of on-farm welfare assessments by using the AWI to predict which herds have poorer welfare with respect to specific on-farm measures. Using Spearman rank analyses, we investigated if the AWI scores for 157 herds were associated with 24 on-farm welfare variables measured contemporaneously by Welfare Quality assessment. The mortality AWI subindicator score and the percentage mortality in the previous 12 mo were moderately correlated, as were the udder health AWI subindicator score and the percentage high somatic cell count (SCC) in the previous 3 recordings. Only negligible or weak correlations were found between the other AWI scores and the on-farm assessment variables. We built Generalized Linear Models using AWI scores as independent variables to predict herds with poorer welfare. Herds were classified as having poorer welfare based on their results in specific on-farm welfare measures. We evaluated the models' predictive ability and accuracy. Moderately accurate models were built for predicting poorer herds with respect to high SCC, mortality, and moderate or severe lameness. The other models were less accurate. The AWI scores were generally unsuitable as replacements of on-farm welfare measures. The AWI subindicators for udder health and mortality could replace the on-farm welfare measures related to those 2 topics, but there was some overlap in the data used to calculate them. Despite a lack of independence, the use of those 2 AWI subindicators may marginally reduce the duration of on-farm assessments. A prediction model based on AWI scores showed potential for identifying herds with poorer welfare in terms of moderate or severe lameness, facilitating more efficient use of resources for on-farm lameness assessment. As a consequence of the data used in the AWI, it was only reflective of health-related welfare outcomes.

Examining animal testing for risk assessment: A WC-12 workshop report.

In toxicology and regulatory testing, the use of animal methods has been both a cornerstone and a subject of intense debate. To continue this discourse a panel and audience representing scientists from various sectors and countries convened at a workshop held during the 12th World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences (WC-12). The ensuing discussion focused on the scientific and ethical considerations surrounding the necessity and responsibility of defending the creation of new animal data in regulatory testing. The primary aim was to foster an open dialogue between the panel members and the audience while encouraging diverse perspectives on the responsibilities and obligations of various stakeholders (including industry, regulatory bodies, technology developers, research scientists, and animal welfare NGOs) in defending the development and subsequent utilization of new animal data. This workshop summary report captures the key elements from this critical dialogue and collective introspection. It describes the intersection of scientific progress and ethical responsibility as all sectors seek to accelerate the pace of 21st century predictive toxicology and new approach methodologies (NAMs) for the protection of human health and the environment.

A perspective on ungulate management and welfare assessment across the traditional zoo to large landscape spectrum.

Wild ungulates are managed in human care in a range of settings from traditional zoos to large ranches. These varied settings present different portfolios of risks for good or poor welfare, which leads some to question whether a particular setting is "good for welfare" and have frustrated others interested in comparing the welfare of ungulates across these settings. Differing housing and management scenarios present different challenges and opportunities in terms of welfare but this commentary posits that good welfare is possible in all of these settings. In this commentary, we also consider natural behaviors that may, at face value, compromise welfare and discuss how taking a long view on welfare addresses concerns about these behaviors, in part using arguments related to normal behavioral development that likely improves welfare at other life stages. We also highlight the role of motivation in seemingly welfare-compromising behaviors. Finally, some indicators of welfare that we believe transcend management scenarios, and are thus able to be compared across scenarios, are suggested.

ASSESSMENT OF LABORATORY ANIMAL FUNCTIONAL STATUS: MODERN METHODOLOGICAL APPROACHES FOR CONDUCTING BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH.

OBJECTIVE: Aim: to outline modern scientific approaches for evaluating the functional condition of small laboratory animals in experimental research. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Materials and Methods: Scientific publications on the rules of using laboratory animals in scientific experiments, testing, educational process have been studied. The bioethical norms and principles of animal care and use of material for medical, veterinary and biological profiles were also studied, for example modern methodological approaches for conducting biomedical research, since it is the responsibility of the scientist to achieve reproducible research results using the minimum number of laboratory animals. CONCLUSION: Conclusions: The main conditions for their implementation and effectiveness include: adherence to the "Ethical Code" published by the International Council for Medical Scientific Organizations in the early 1980s, the principles of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals Used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes (Strasbourg, 18 March 1986), and Directive 2010/63/EU adopted on 22 September 2010; the use of advanced and modern diagnostic equipment that enables low-invasive yet highly informative research on small laboratory animals; conducting comprehensive, multi-level studies on an optimal number of animals in laboratories that meet international standards.

Animal welfare and farm economy-exploring the relationship between dairy animal welfare indicators and economic efficiency.

This paper explores the associations between a set of mainly health and productivity related animal welfare indicators in dairy farming calculated based on herd recordings, and short-term economic efficiency. To explore this association, we merged a dataset with animal welfare indicators and a dataset with farm economic data from 459 Norwegian farms. Gross margin including direct payments together with milk quota, farmland and number of animals and were used to calculate economic efficiency. The analysis was performed in two steps. First, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was used to rank the farms according to efficiency. Second, the machine learning method boosting was applied to analyze the associations between economic efficiency and the different welfare indicators. The findings show that for most welfare indicators, at indicator values below the national average a positive association exists between increasing indicator values and economic efficiency. For some indicators such as for example Fertility, Calves and Youngstock, this positive association continues also beyond the national average. However, for other indicators such as for example Claw and Udder health, a curvilinear relationship exists with a turning point from where the efficiency is negatively associated with increasing indicator values. Possible explanations for the associations between economic efficiency and animal welfare indicators are outlined.

Animal board invited review: The need to consider emissions, economics and pig welfare in the transition from farrowing crates to pens with loose lactating sows.

In the development and implementation of housing systems for pigs, there has been a significant focus on pig welfare including loose housing of lactating sows either indoors or outdoors. However, it is equally important to consider the environmental and economic aspects of housing systems to ensure sustainability in livestock production. The aim of this work was to review the sustainability (societal and animal welfare, environmental and economic impact) of different approaches for housing farrowing and lactating sows in indoor environments. The review illustrates that like outdoor systems, indoor housing systems are challenged in meeting the three pillars of sustainability when changing the housing of lactating sows from conventional crates with permanent confinement to systems with temporary or zero-confinement. Increased space allowance increases sow welfare, but in addition, pen designs with increased space increase ammonia emission, investment and running costs. Furthermore, indoor loose lactation systems come with an increased risk for piglet mortality, which unless effectively managed, reduces animal welfare and the economic sustainability of the system. If farms retrofit existing buildings, the larger space per loose farrowing pen leads to a reduction in pen numbers and therefore herd size, reducing the farm profitability. If farmers choose to reduce herd size to meet requirements, welfare will be reduced while emissions will be increased as more sows are brought into production again in other countries, often in conventional systems with fully slatted flooring, to meet the demand for animal protein to feed the growing global population. The review indicates there are ways to house lactating sows loose indoors with increased opportunity to perform highly motivated species-specific behaviours compared to the conventional crates with continuous confinement. These systems can offer a lower risk for environmental impact and economic risk through reducing piglet mortality. Nevertheless, a trade-off for continual freedom of sow movement may be required as zero-confinement increases the risk of piglet mortality and increased emissions. It is important to raise awareness among citizens and policy makers that loose farrowing and lactating systems if applied today, come with a higher production cost and the risk of increased environmental impact. More research and development is needed in relation to the environmental and economic impact of these systems in order to give farmers the best information to invest in new and more sustainable production systems.

The World Organisation for Animal Health Observatory: a data-driven approach to address the needs of its Members.

This article reviews the Observatory of the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, founded as OIE), including its objectives, direction and progress achieved so far. It explains the benefits offered by this data-driven programme in improving access to data and information analysis while ensuring confidentiality. In addition, the authors examine the challenges that the Observatory faces and its inextricable link to the Organisation's data management. The development of the Observatory is of the utmost importance, not only for its relevance to the development of WOAH International Standards and their implementation worldwide, but also because of its role as one of the drivers of WOAH's digital transformation plan. This transformation is essential, given the major role of information technologies in supporting regulation for animal health, animal welfare and veterinary public health.

Cet article consacré à l'Observatoire de l'Organisation mondiale de la santé animale (OMSA, fondée en tant qu'OIE) fait le point sur ses objectifs, ses orientations et les accomplissements réalisés à ce jour. Les auteurs expliquent les bénéfices et améliorations apportés par ce programme axé sur les données, en termes à la fois d'accès aux données, d'analyse de l'information et de confidentialité. Ils abordent aussi les défis auxquels l'Observatoire doit faire face et son lien indissociable avec la gestion des données de l'Organisation. Le développement de l'Observatoire revêt une importance fondamentale, non seulement en regard de sa pertinence pour l'élaboration et la mise en oeuvre des normes internationales de l'OMSA partout dans le monde, mais aussi parce qu'il est le moteur de la planification de la transformation numérique de l'OMSA. Cette transformation est cruciale, compte tenu du rôle majeur que jouent les technologies de l'information en appui de la réglementation de la santé animale, du bien-être animal et de la santé publique vétérinaire.

Los autores presentan el Observatorio de la Organización Mundial de Sanidad Animal (OMSA, fundada como OIE), deteniéndose en particular en sus objetivos, su orientación y el camino recorrido hasta ahora. También exponen las ventajas que ofrece este programa centrado en los datos para mejorar tanto el acceso a los datos como los análisis de información, asegurando al mismo tiempo la confidencialidad. Además, examinan las dificultades a que hace frente el Observatorio y el indisociable vínculo que este guarda con la gestión de datos de la Organización. El desarrollo del Observatorio reviste una importancia capital, no solo por su utilidad para la elaboración de las normas internacionales de la OMSA y su aplicación en todo el mundo, sino también porque constituye uno de los motores del plan de transformación digital de la OMSA. Se trata de un proceso de transformación esencial, dada la importante función que cumplen las tecnologías de la información a la hora de regular la sanidad y el bienestar animales y la salud pública veterinaria.

Development and evaluation of an animal health and welfare monitoring system for veterinary supervision of pullet farms.

Regular welfare monitoring throughout rearing of pullets may help to identify problems early and take counteractions timely, which helps in guaranteeing good welfare. The aims of our observational study were (i) to establish and test a welfare monitoring system that can be used during (short) routine veterinary and technical staff visits for pullet flocks, (ii) to use the monitoring system to investigate variability between flocks and (iii) to analyse factors that potentially affect pullets' body weight, uniformity in body weight and mortality. The developed monitoring system tries to minimise the time required while not losing important information. Age-specific recording sheets comprise animal-based indicators of welfare and relevant environmental factors (housing, management, care) to allow for identifying causes of problems and targeted action. Finally, the system was implemented in a cross-sectional study and data collected in 100 flocks (67 organic, 33 conventional) on 28 rearing farms in Austria. Linear mixed models were used to identify factors influencing body weight, uniformity and mortality, both including all flocks (A) and only organic flocks (O) and a linear regression model with all flocks to investigate associations within animal-based indicators. High variability was found between flocks in animal-based indicators. Body weight was higher when the pre-rearing period was shorter (p ≤ 0.001, A&O), with higher intensities of light (p = 0.012, O), with only one compared to more stockpersons (p ≤ 0.007, A&O), with a higher number of flock visits per day (p ≤ 0.018, A&O), and a lower avoidance distance (p = 0.034, A). Body weight uniformity increased, with age and decreased with the duration of the light period (p = 0.046, A), and, amongst others, was higher on organic farms (farming type; p = 0.041). The latter may reflect a more uniform level of welfare due to a lower stocking density and lowered effects of social competition. Within organic flocks mortality was lower if pullets had access to a covered veranda (p = 0.025) resulting in an overall lower stocking density inside the barn, while in the model including all farms mortality was higher in cases where a disease had been diagnosed. We conclude that our monitoring system can easily be implemented in regular veterinary and technical staff visits, but could also be used by the farmers'. Several easy-to-record animal-based indicators of animal welfare could be analysed more frequently to increase early detection of problems. Implementation of such a routine-based monitoring system with easy-to-assess animal-based parameters and input measures can contribute to better animal health and welfare in pullets.

The capacity of ante-mortem inspection of pigs at the abattoir to predict post-mortem findings and associated financial implications: A study at batch level.

This study aimed to investigate the associations between severe ear, tail, and skin lesions, hernias, bursitis, and rectal prolapses and meat inspection finding in slaughter pigs, including carcass weight and financial implications associated with carcass condemnations at batch level. Data were collected from 13,296 pigs from 116 batches from a single abattoir. Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated to analyze the degree of association between the prevalence of welfare issues and condemnation findings. The association between batch-level results of carcass weight, batch size, and the prevalence of welfare issues was analyzed using generalized linear mixed models. The prevalence of tail lesions was significantly associated with both entire (r = 0.224; p = 0.0432) and partial (r = 0.276; p = 0.0120) carcass condemnation. Batches with pigs affected by more than one welfare issue were 9.9 kg lighter than those without welfare issues (p < 0.05), which was equivalent to a potential loss of €11.28 per pig. Our findings indicate that ante-mortem inspection could be useful to predict post-mortem findings at batch level and that welfare issues in pigs represent a financial loss to producers, as they are paid on a per kg basis and have tight margins.

Assessment of cannabidiol use in pets according to a national survey in the USA.

OBJECTIVES: Conduct an online questionnaire to understand the motivations and perceptions about cannabidiol use in companion animals in the USA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from a USA population sample who owned a pet were gathered using an online questionnaire. Perception of cannabidiol efficacy was analysed for independence against explanatory variables using the Pearson chi-square test, followed by a binary logistic regression. RESULTS: A total of 1238 participants completed the survey; 356 had administered cannabidiol to their pet before. Dogs were the most prevalent pet, followed by cats (75.8 and 22.2%, respectively). Treats/chews and oils were the most common forms of cannabidiol (44.6 and 42.9%, respectively). The most prevalent condition for treating with cannabidiol was anxiety and stress (67.4%), followed by joint pain and inflammation (23%). Doses and frequency of cannabidiol used by many pet owners were inconsistent, and yet many participants perceived an improvement of their pets' condition with supplementation, with mild to no side effects. Most respondents had not given cannabidiol to their pets before due to uncertainty about its efficacy and safety. The frequency of cannabidiol administration and length of time administered were both significant for whether participants found it efficacious in treating a given condition, and this was more evident when supplementing cannabidiol for a longer time. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: We found heterogeneity regarding cannabidiol dosage and dosing frequency. Cannabidiol was mostly perceived as safe and effective, but there is a need to conduct further research on cannabidiol long-term tolerability and therapeutic efficacy for treating various conditions.

The Aviary Transect-a practical welfare assessment tool to improve the management of cage-free laying hens.

The Aviary Transect (AT) is a method for assessing welfare in cage-free laying hen flocks, and comprises standardized walks along each aisle screening the flock for selected welfare indicators: feather loss (FL) on head, back, breast, and tail, wounds on head, back, tail, and feet, dirty plumage, enlarged crop, sickness, and birds found dead. The method is quick (20 min for a flock of 7,500 hens), has good interobserver agreement and shows positive correlations with individual bird sampling methods. However, it is less clear whether AT can be used to detect differences in flock health and welfare related to housing and management. The aim of this study was to evaluate how AT findings varied in relation to 23 selected housing, management, environmental, and production factors. The study was conducted on 33 commercial nonbeak-trimmed, white-feathered layer flocks of similar age (70-76 wk) kept in multitiered aviaries in Norway. The most prevalent findings across flocks were feather loss on the back (mean 0.97% of flock) and breast (0.94%) followed by feather loss on the head (0.45%) and tail (0.36%) with differences in feather pecking damage according to the hybrid used (P < 0.05). Better litter quality was associated with a lower prevalence of feather loss on the head and breast (P < 0.05), and addition of fresh litter during the production cycle resulted in fewer birds with feather loss on the head (P < 0.05) and tail (P < 0.001). Lower dust levels were linked to a lower prevalence of feather loss on the head, back, and breast (P < 0.05), and when access to the floor area underneath the aviary was provided at an earlier stage of production, fewer birds had wounds (P < 0.001), but more birds were observed with an enlarged crop (P < 0.05) and found dead (P < 0.05). In conclusion, findings from AT showed that results of the assessment varied according to housing conditions. These results support the validity of AT as a relevant welfare assessment tool for evaluating cage-free management practices.

Review: The challenge to integrate animal welfare indicators into the Life Cycle Assessment.

The transition to a more sustainable livestock sector represents one of the major challenges of our time. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is recognised as the gold standard methodology for assessing the environmental impact of farming systems. Simultaneously, animal welfare is a key component of livestock production and is intrinsically related to human and environmental well-being. To perform an overall on-farm sustainability assessment, it would be desirable to consider both the environmental impact and the welfare of the animals. The present work aimed to summarise and describe the methodologies adopted in peer-reviewed papers published to date, that combine animal welfare evaluation with LCA. Citations, retrieved from four bibliographical databases, were systematically evaluated in a multi-stage approach following the JBI and PRISMA scoping review guidelines. The searches identified 1 460 studies, of which only 24 were compliant with the inclusion criteria. The results highlighted how the environmental LCA was undertaken with a much more homogenous and standardised method than animal welfare assessment. When studies were grouped based on the type of animal welfare assessment performed: 16.7% used single welfare indicators, 45.8% multiple indicators, 8.3% applied existing validated protocols (i.e., TGI-200 and TGI-35L), 16.7% used non-validated protocols and 12.5% employed other methods. The papers were further classified with respect to the "5 Animal Welfare Domains Model": the most assessed domain was "environment" (90.5% of the papers%), followed by "health" (52.4%), "nutrition" (33.3%), "behavioural interactions" (28.6%) and "mental state" (9.5%). None of the studies assessed all the domains simultaneously. In addition, 66.7% of papers (n = 16) aggregated the animal welfare indicators into a final score. Within these, only four papers proposed to associate the animal welfare scores with the LCA functional unit. An overall sustainability score, calculated with several different approaches to summarise the information, was provided by 46% of the papers. In summary, despite the topic's relevance, to date, there is neither a consensus on the animal welfare assessment approach to be carried out (indicators selection and their aggregation) nor on the standardisation of an integrated animal welfare-LCA evaluation. The present review provides a basis for the development of common future guidelines to carry out a comprehensive, true-to-life and robust farm sustainability assessment.

AWF appoints seven new trustees.

The Animal Welfare Foundation (AWF) has welcomed seven new trustees to its board. The newly appointed trustees bring expertise from many different specialisms.

Perception of laying hen farmers, poultry veterinarians, and poultry experts regarding sensor-based continuous monitoring of laying hen health and welfare.

Daily farm management practices play an essential role in determining and steering health, welfare and productivity of laying hen flocks. Optimal management requires expertise of farmers and coworkers, especially when hens are kept in complex, large-scale aviary systems. Relatively little sensor-based support is available to farmers, even though numerous research groups are working on developing technologies to continuously detect deviations in layer health and welfare. A survey with laying hen farmers, poultry veterinarians and poultry experts from Western Europe and Canada was conducted to identify and prioritize indicators of optimal and suboptimal laying hen health and welfare in commercial farms. The status-quo of sensor technology and the advantages, wishes, and concerns regarding sensors were additionally assessed to contribute to the future development of a predictive monitoring tool that continuously monitors laying hen health and welfare. A total of 45 stakeholders were interviewed, of which 41 filled in an online questionnaire. Although the prioritization of indicators differed between stakeholders, the majority identified the use of feed and water intake, egg production and quality, sound, activity, and movement of hens as important indicators to assess health and welfare. Currently collected (sensor) data were not used to their full potential, and stakeholders missed the integration and storage of data into one monitoring system with easy visualization tools. Most interest was observed in the use of cameras and microphones to detect deviations in health and welfare at an early stage, to reduce subjectivity of the assessment and to gain more knowledge on layer behavior. It can be concluded that these results could steer research efforts towards the development of continuous monitoring techniques, and enhance their adaptability and acceptability by stakeholders.

Health and welfare assessment of beef cattle during the adaptation period in a specialized commercial fattening unit.

Beef cattle welfare and health status are influenced by housing and management systems. The present study aimed to assess the welfare and health status in the first 15 days after arrival of Limousine bulls imported from France and fattened in a commercial fattening unit in Italy. A total of 264 bulls were included in the study. Welfare, biosecurity, and major hazard and warning system were assessed on days 2 (T1) and 15 (T2) after arrival to the unit. At T1 and T2 an inspective clinical examination was performed on all bulls. At T1 and T2 blood samples were collected from 88 bulls for haematological analysis. Both at T1 and T2, the welfare, biosecurity, and major hazards and warning systems were classified with a general score of medium but with a decrease on animal-based measurements in T2. At T1 and T2 the clinical examination revealed a significant increase (p-value≤0.05) of skin lesions and lameness in T2. A high incidence of respiratory disease was noticed in both assessed times. Leucocytes and all differentials count, and platelets were significantly increased (p-value≤0.05) at T2, while the fibrinogen was significantly decreased. The haematological changes suggest that the bulls were under higher stress in T2 when compared with T1 linked with a difficult adaptation response to the fattening unit. A multi-factorial approach that integrates the indicators of the checklist and the clinical and haematological findings of animals can be a useful method to deepen the assessment of welfare in beef cattle.