基于动物福利视角的规模化奶牛养殖场经济效应分析

本研究遵循动物福利"5F"原则,结合150家规模化奶牛养殖场实地调研数据,构建奶牛场动物福利评价体系,测度动物福利水平,并进一步建立嵌入动物福利水平测度值的规模化奶牛养殖场收入函数,验证关联效应.结果表明:生理福利和环境福利是影响我国规模化奶牛养殖场动物福利的最重要的2个维度,受访的规模化奶牛养殖场生理福利和环境福利的...     

A review of approaches to assessing equine welfare

Veterinary surgeons are required to assess an animal's welfare in a range of different circumstances in the course of their daily work. These assessments may relate to the long‐term welfare of an individual animal under their care, or the current welfare of a population of animals that are unfamiliar to them as individuals. The welfare assessment made may subsequently have implications for the treatment that an animal receives or for the decision of whether or not an animal should remain in its current home. Yet welfare assessment is not straightforward. Here we review the challenges that welfare assessment presents and review the tools currently available to meet them. Lastly, we look towards the future of equine welfare assessment, with examples of current research to develop tools and optimise welfare assessment.     

农场动物福利的评估

畜牧业中的动物福利问题越来越为人们所关注,评估动物福利是提高畜禽福利的基础。行为是评价动物福利最容易理解和最通常使用的指标,特别是异常行为的出现。应激相关生理表征也说明动物处于不适环境。但福利评估是一个复杂而棘手的问题,其他很多指标也可用于福利评估,特别是情感状态。论文较为全面地介绍了动物福利常用的评估指标和新的评估手段。     

Assessment of positive welfare: a review

As a complement to the concentration on negative states in welfare science, scientists are increasingly considering the desirability of measuring positive outcomes. Since evaluation of an animal's mental state is a critical goal for welfare assessment, considerations of both positive feelings (what an animal "likes") and resources that an animal is motivated to obtain (what an animal "wants") appear to be important. However, since animals may make choices that are not in their long-term interests, an assessment of positive feelings and resources should include an evaluation of any associated actual or potential harms, such as fear, distress, pain, injury and disease. A review of current evidence suggests that positive welfare can be best assessed by evaluation of resources (i.e. inputs) that are valued by an animal and by positive outcomes such as behavioural responses, influences on cognitive processes and physiological markers. Since negative welfare is often inversely correlated with positive welfare measures, current welfare policy will have been achieving some positive welfare outcomes, however the explicit inclusion of positive welfare outcomes in the framework allows for analyses that are both deeper and more in tune with commonsense, which can hopefully yield more objective policies.     

The structure and regulation of the Irish equine industries: Links to considerations of equine welfare

The equine industries in Ireland are vibrant and growing. They are broadly classified into two sectors: Thoroughbred racing, and sports and leisure. This paper describes these sectors in terms of governance, education and training in equine welfare, and available data concerning horse numbers, identification, traceability and disposal. Animal welfare, and specifically equine welfare, has received increasing attention internationally. There is general acceptance of concepts such as animal needs and persons' responsibilities toward animals in their care, as expressed in the 'Five Freedoms'. As yet, little has been published on standards of equine welfare pertaining to Ireland, or on measures to address welfare issues here. This paper highlights the central role of horse identification and legal registration of ownership to safeguard the health and welfare of horses.     

Animal welfare: concepts and measurement.

The term "welfare" refers to the state of an individual in relation to its environment, and this can be measured. Both failure to cope with the environment and difficulty in coping are indicators of poor welfare. Suffering and poor welfare often occur together, but welfare can be poor without suffering and welfare should not be defined solely in terms of subjective experiences. The situations that result in poor welfare are reviewed in this study with special reference to those in which an individual lacks control over interactions with its environment. The indicators of poor welfare include the following: reduced life expectancy, impaired growth, impaired reproduction, body damage, disease, immunosuppression, adrenal activity, behavior anomalies, and self-narcotization. The uses of measures of responsiveness, stereotypies, and animal preferences in welfare assessment are discussed. The need to make direct measurement of poor welfare as well as to use sophisticated studies of animal preferences is emphasized.     

现代肉鸡生产中的福利问题

本文阐述了动物福利的定义及评价、描述方法,深入地分析了生产以及运输过程中肉鸡的福利状况及研究进展,其中包括遗传选育、环境与营养、饲养管理、攻击行为、限制饲喂、氨的浓度、抓鸡、转运过程及屠宰时的应激等影响肉鸡福利的因素,并提出了相应的改善措施。     

The question of animal welfare after the completion of the European domestic market

Animal welfare, based on ethical motives, is not mentioned in the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community. Nevertheless there are a lot welfare activities at EC-level which are justified to prevent unfair competition among the member states. At the same time there is the chance to improve welfare within all EC-member states.     

Animal welfare: at the interface between science and society

The general concept of animal welfare embraces a continuum between negative/bad welfare and positive/good welfare. Early approaches to defining animal welfare were mainly based on the exclusion of negative states, neglecting the fact that during evolution animals optimised their ability to interact with and adapt to their environment(s). An animal's welfare status might best be represented by the adaptive value of the individual's interaction with a given environmental setting but this dynamic welfare concept has significant implications for practical welfare assessments. Animal welfare issues cannot simply be addressed by means of objective biological measurements of an animal's welfare status under certain circumstances. In practice, interpretation of welfare status and its translation into the active management of perceived welfare issues are both strongly influenced by context and, especially, by cultural and societal values. In assessing whether or not a given welfare status is morally acceptable, animal welfare scientists must be aware that scientifically based, operational definitions of animal welfare will necessarily be influenced strongly by a given society's moral understanding.     

新西兰鹿的福利及实施措施

新西兰鹿业协会为加大鹿及鹿产品在国际市场上的竞争力,积极实施鹿福利制度。文中主要介绍了新西兰在鹿的运输、锯茸及饲养管理等方面所实施的具体福利措施。     

Animal behavior and well-being symposium: Farm animal welfare assurance: science and application

Public and consumer pressure for assurances that farm animals are raised humanely has led to a range of private and public animal welfare standards, and for methods to assess compliance with these standards. The standards usually claim to be science based, but even though researchers have developed measures of animal welfare and have tested the effects of housing and management variables on welfare within controlled laboratory settings, there are challenges in extending this research to develop on-site animal welfare standards. The standards need to be validated against a definition of welfare that has broad support and which is amenable to scientific investigation. Ensuring that such standards acknowledge scientific uncertainty is also challenging, and balanced input from all scientific disciplines dealing with animal welfare is needed. Agencies providing animal welfare audit services need to integrate these scientific standards and legal requirements into successful programs that effectively measure and objectively report compliance. On-farm assessment of animal welfare requires a combination of animal-based measures to assess the actual state of welfare and resource-based measures to identify risk factors. We illustrate this by referring to a method of assessing welfare in broiler flocks. Compliance with animal welfare standards requires buy-in from all stakeholders, and this will be best achieved by a process of inclusion in the development of pragmatic assessment methods and the development of audit programs verifying the conditions and continuous improvement of farm animal welfare.     

Science alone is not always enough: The importance of ethical assessment for a more comprehensive view of equine welfare

Researchers in equitation science have worked diligently to use objective measures in horse behavior and welfare studies, ones that colleagues will appreciate. This is appropriate. However, because equine welfare is not purely an empirical matter, we must recognize that science alone may not be enough when assessing equine treatment. The science community must realize, as does the public already, that different value assumptions will lead to different welfare emphases. Thus, there is an intimate interplay between science and values where the quality of life of both human and nonhuman animals are concerned. If certain training practices or aesthetic modifications are shown to the public and a majority finds them objectionable, the practices should be further scrutinized. There are still many that believe if a horse is healthy and performing competitively then its welfare is good. On closer scrutiny, equine welfare is conceptually more nuanced than this and includes an ethical/values-based component. Welfare is not only concerned with biological functioning, but also with “affective states” such as emotions, pain, suffering, and frustration when opportunities to express species-characteristic behaviors are thwarted. These emphases, informed by empirical insights, reflect value frameworks that influence the scientific study of equine welfare. Here, we consider the complementary values-based side of equine welfare and suggest how ethical assessments have the potential to enhance equine welfare. Three different ethical accounting methods are presented in this article and an example from the horse industry is used to illustrate each. Each subdiscipline of the horse industry contains at least a few ethically questionable practices. Stakeholders are challenged to examine their area of the horse industry and evaluate questionable practices, possibly using the ethical accounting processes discussed in this article.     

Assessment of animal welfare aspects in extreme breeds of pet animals

In a review based on literature searches animal welfare related characteristics in extreme breed types of small mammals, ornamental birds, reptiles and ornamental fish are summarized. Animal welfare aspects are assessed and measures for improvement are described.     

Voluntary testing procedures of farm animal housing equipment according to the Animal Welfare Act of 1998]

Before its broad application in practice, housing equipment should be tested, in particular with regard to animal welfare. The differing positions of the German Federal Council (Bundesrat) and the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag), whether such testing should be mandatory or voluntary, have been conciliated in the amended animal welfare act by empowering the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (BML) to fix official standards for voluntary testing procedures by regulation. On request of the BML, a report as scientific basis for a draft regulation is currently prepared by the scientific animal welfare committee of the German Agricultural Society (DLG). The scientific animal welfare committee has been appointed by the DLG in order to provide support in the effort to strengthen animal welfare aspects in the DLG-utility testing procedure of housing equipment, which is in place since 1953. The committee elaborates standards concerning testing methods, assessment criteria and the necessary size of investigations. As required, the scientific animal welfare committee may support the DLG-testing bodies in the implementation of the animal welfare part of the testing procedure. It will, moreover, be involved in the welfare assessment based on the testing results. The amendments of the already established testing procedure will help to fulfill the general requirements on an acceptable animal welfare testing procedure. While keeping in mind that there are certain limits in what can be achieved by a voluntary testing procedure, the enhanced consideration of animal welfare aspects within the DLG-utility testing procedure has the advantage to be relatively unbureaucratic and in line with EU legislation, and is, therefore, an appropriate tool for a contibrution to improved animal welfare in livestock housing.     

Welfare of farmed deer in New Zealand. 1. Management practices

This review summarises research of management practices that potentially impact on the welfare of farmed deer. The processes of capture and initial domestication of feral deer caused many welfare problems but are now essentially complete in New Zealand. The health and production status of farmed deer, and readily visible indicators of their welfare are generally good, although preventive medicines and optimum management practices have not been universally adopted. Research into social behaviour, effects of yarding, weaning, mating, calving, shelter, shade and nutrition has identified ways of improving the welfare of farmed deer and has provided recommendations for deer industry quality assurance programmes. Research has identified transport design and practices that minimise the impact of transport on deer welfare and reduce carcass wastage caused by bruising during transport. Time in lairage prior to slaughter should be minimised and electrical stunning is a humane method of slaughter. Ongoing research is needed on management practices and farm environments to further improve the welfare of farmed deer, consistent with the goals of the New Zealand deer industry and its proactive approach to date.     

Welfare of farmed deer in New Zealand. 1. Management practices

This review summarises research of management practices that potentially impact on the welfare of farmed deer. The processes of capture and initial domestication of feral deer caused many welfare problems but are now essentially complete in New Zealand. The health and production status of farmed deer, and readily visible indicators of their welfare are generally good, although preventive medicines and optimum management practices have not been universally adopted. Research into social behaviour, effects of yarding, weaning, mating, calving, shelter, shade and nutrition has identified ways of improving the welfare of farmed deer and has provided recommendations for deer industry quality assurance programmes. Research has identified transport design and practices that minimise the impact of transport on deer welfare and reduce carcass wastage caused by bruising during transport. Time in lairage prior to slaughter should be minimised and electrical stunning is a humane method of slaughter. Ongoing research is needed on management practices and farm environments to further improve the welfare of farmed deer, consistent with the goals of the New Zealand deer industry and its proactive approach to date.     

Effects of confinement and research needs to underpin welfare standards

Although there is no agreement on how to measure animal welfare, how to interpret some of the observed changes in behavior and physiology, and how much confinement of animals is acceptable, this has not stopped animal welfare standards from being set in the form of either voluntary or mandatory recommendations. Notwithstanding that there are gaps in knowledge about a number of farming practices, there is some emphasis by scientists, industry, politicians, and some animal welfare groups for any changes to welfare-related recommendations to be based on scientific evidence. This article discusses the related issues of confinement and its effects on farm animals, research gaps in the field of animal welfare, the development of welfare standards, and whether such standards should be underpinned by science. For some issues there is a general consensus, for example, that animals feel pain and have emotions and that animals' appearance and behavior are used by good farmers to recognize both the ‘normality’ and deviations from normal of their animals. However, these variables are difficult to measure or define. Nevertheless, if issues are considered important to animals' welfare, should difficulty of measurement or definition be a barrier to the creation of legislated standards? Thus, options for legislated standards include either comprehensive standards, some of which may be difficult to measure, similar to current legislation on cruelty to animals, or only a limited number of standards with targets that can be measured, some of which may have less relevance to welfare outcomes.     

Science and its application in assessing the welfare of laying hens in the egg industry

OBJECTIVE: To provide a rational framework for the scientific assessment of welfare and to use this framework to assess the welfare implications of issues relevant to the Australian egg industry. PROCEDURE: A well-accepted approach to the assessment of animal welfare, based on assessing how well the animal is adapting, is described. This approach is used to consider the welfare implications of issues such as space, perches, nest boxes, dust baths, abrasive strips and non-cage housing systems. CONCLUSIONS: The role of science in the welfare debate is to provide biological facts and thus it is important to separate welfare and ethics. The welfare of an animal in response to a housing system or husbandry procedure can be assessed by evaluating how much has to be done by the animal in order to cope and the extent to which the coping attempts are succeeding. Using this approach there is evidence for improved welfare from increasing space in cages, based on reduced aggression, corticosterone concentrations and mortalities and increased production, and for incorporating perches, based on the reduction in injuries at depopulation. Similar evidence for the inclusion of dust baths and nest boxes is lacking. The data on abrasive strips are equivocal with recommendations from overseas for their inclusion, whereas some local data have shown an increase in mortality can occur. Similarly, the data on non-cage systems are equivocal. The data on bone strength suggest improved fitness in non-cage systems, the data on stress suggest fitness may be better, similar or worse in non-cage systems, and the limited data on immunology suggest fitness may be worse in non-cage systems than in conventional cages.     

Isolated weaning technology: humane benefits and concerns in the production of pork

The age at which piglets are separated from the sow has been identified as an animal welfare risk in current swine production systems. Animal welfare gains of a minimal disease state must be objectively balanced against the welfare costs of early weaning. Veterinary practitioners should continue to participate in the development and validation of humane animal production methods.     

Animal welfare training at the Ontario Veterinary College

The University of Guelph is internationally recognized as a leader in animal welfare and is home to the Colonel K.L. Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare and to numerous faculty with expertise in the discipline. However, while animal welfare receives significant attention within the agricultural college, its didactic teaching within the veterinary curriculum has been limited. Veterinary students receive four hours of instruction in animal ethics and apply their knowledge within the communication lectures and laboratories, totaling 11-15 hrs. Compulsory coursework explicitly addressing factual components of animal welfare science, welfare assessment, and associated animal-related policy constitute only 12 hrs throughout the four-year Doctor of Veterinary Medicine curriculum. However, an elective final-year clinical rotation and a graduate course specific to animal welfare were offered for the first time in 2004/2005. Student interest in animal welfare is evident through their participation in summer research projects in animal welfare, an animal welfare mentor group, and a student-run animal welfare club that organizes an Animal Welfare Forum each October. Veterinarians have important contributions to make in decision making about animal welfare issues, at clinician and policy levels. Although motivated individuals can seek out opportunities to expand their knowledge of animal welfare, a compulsory senior-level course in animal welfare is needed to develop the necessary depth of understanding of this discipline if veterinarians, as a profession, are to meet society's expectations about animal welfare.