The present study examined whether observers could distinguish between cattle that are naïve to road transport and the same cattle after becoming more habituated to transport. The behavioural expression of cattle was assessed through the method of qualitative behavioural assessment (QBA)

Abstract. Animal welfare is increasingly important for the Australian livestock industries, to maintain social licence to practice as well as ensuring market share overseas. Improvement of animal welfare in the livestock industries requires several important key steps. Paramount among these, objective measures are needed for welfare assessment that will enable comparison and contrast of welfare implications of husbandry procedures or housing options. Such measures need to be versatile (can be applied under a wide range of on-and off-farm situations), relevant (reveal aspects of the animal's affective or physiological state that is relevant to their welfare), reliable (can be repeated with confidence in the results), relatively economic to apply, and they need to have broad acceptance by all stakeholders. Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) is an integrated measure that characterises behaviour as a dynamic, expressive body language. QBA is a versatile tool requiring little specialist equipment suiting application to in situ assessments that enables comparative, hypothesis-driven evaluation of various industry-relevant practices. QBA is being increasingly used as part of animal welfare assessments in Europe, and although most other welfare assessment methods record 'problems' (e.g. lameness, injury scores, and so on), QBA can capture positive aspects of animal welfare (e.g. positively engaged with their environment, playfulness). In this viewpoint, we review the outcomes of recent QBA studies and discuss the potential application of QBA, in combination with other methods, as a welfare assessment tool for the Australian livestock industries.

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This study examined the behavioural expression of cattle immediately prior to slaughter through the process of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA), and compared these results to measurements of physiology and temperament. Twenty-eight Angus steers were filmed while in a funnel chute as they were being moved towards an abattoir killing box.Footage of cattle was shown in random order to 15 observers. Observers assessed the cattle using a qualitative approach based on Free Choice Profiling (FCP) methodology, which gives observers complete freedom to choose their own descriptive terms. Data were analysed with Generalised Procrustes Analysis (GPA). There was significant consensus (P < 0.001) amongst observers in terms of their assessment of the behavioural expression of the cattle.Two main dimensions were identified, explaining 58.8% and 9.2% of the variation between animals, respectively. Low values for GPA dimension 1 were associated with terms such as 'calm' and 'relaxed' and high values associated with terms such as 'nervous' and 'anxious'.Low values for GPA dimension 2 were associated with terms such as 'annoyed' and 'frightened' and high values associated with terms such as 'curious' and 'interested'. We found no significant correlations between the QBA scores and three temperament measures (taken at weaning). However, cattle slaughtered towards the end of the line (rs = 0.45, P = 0.016) and cattle with a greater plasma lactate concentration (measured at exsanguinations) (R 24 = 0.45, P = 0.020) were attributed higher GPA dimension 1 scores (i.e. more 'nervous'/'anxious'). The only animal with an ultimate muscle pH > 5.7 (classified as a 'dark cutter') had a low value for GPA dimension 2 (scored as relatively more 'annoyed'/'frightened'). The findings from this study suggest that QBA could contribute to assessing pre-slaughter animal handling, highlighting potential issues to be followed up with additional measures. The significant correlations between GPA dimension 1 with slaughter order and plasma lactate warrant further investigation, comparing behavioural expression with aspects of meat quality.

This study examined whether observers could distinguish between cattle that were exposed to various road transport conditions: Experiment 1 compared a manipulated flooring treatment (non-grip flooring, NG) with a control transport event (grip flooring, G) and Experiment 2 compared a manipulated driving style (stop-start driving, SS) with a control transport event of smooth, continuous (C) driving. The behavioural expression of cattle was assessed through the process of Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA), and these assessments were tested for correlation with various physiological parameters. Fourteen Angus steers were assessed. Blood samples were collected immediately before and after transport, and heart rate and core body temperature were measured continuously throughout each transport event. Continuous video footage recorded during each transport event was edited to isolate short clips of individual animals which were randomly ordered and shown to observers for QBA and analysis by Generalised Procrustes Analysis (GPA) which identifies common dimensions of behavioural expression. There was significant consensus amongst 39 observers in their assessment of behavioural expression of the cattle (P < 0.001). In Experiment 1, observers scored cattle exposed to NG flooring during road transport relatively higher (on visual analogue scales) for terms such as 'agitated', 'restless' and 'anxious' compared with cattle exposed to G flooring, which were scored higher for 'calm', 'comfortable' and 'relaxed' (GPA dimension 1, P < 0.001). In Experiment 2, cattle exposed to SS driving received higher average GPA dimension 1 scores (P < 0.01) and higher GPA dimension 2 scores (P < 0.05). These cattle were therefore scored relatively higher for terms such as 'restless', 'agitated' and 'scared' (GPA dimension 1) or 'curious', 'interested' and 'inquisitive' (GPA dimension 2) compared with cattle exposed to C driving, which were scored higher for 'calm', 'relaxed' and 'comfortable' (GPA dimension 1), or 'stressed', 'tense' and 'alert' (GPA dimension 2). There were some significant correlations between physiological responses and behavioural expression of animals for both experiments, with informative correlations between the different dimensions of behavioural expression and white blood cell counts, red blood cell parameters and heart rate. For example, the neutrophil: lymphocyte ratio, a typical marker of stress in ruminants, was elevated in cattle that were described as more 'agitated', 'restless' and 'anxious' (G-NG flooring: GPA dimension 1) or 'stressed', 'tense' and 'alert' (C-SS driving: GPA dimension 2). These results suggest that the QBA process captured behavioural manifestations of stress in cattle. We conclude that QBA is a valuable method of assessing cattle welfare under the conditions tested since there was significant consensus in the ability of human observers to interpret behavioural expression of cattle during these experimental conditions (i.e. QBA is repeatable), observers could distinguish between transpo...