Human–cattle interactions in group housing

Raussi, Satu

doi:10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00213-7

Cited by 70 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Environmental enrichment was shown to reduce fear of humans in pigs (Pearce et al, 1989) but this impact has not been demonstrated in cattle yet (Raussi, 2003). More research is needed to determine the potential links between hanging objects, general fearfulness and reactivity of animals to humans.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to current regulations in the European Union, it is compulsory to keep calves in group housing from the age of 8 weeks onwards. Group housing can make handling of calves more difficult, therefore the effect of group size on human-animal interactions must be examined further (Raussi, 2003). In studies on (veal and dairy) calves mainly dairy breeds have been studied so far (Lensink et al, 2000a and2000b;Rousing et al, 2005;Bokkers et al, 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of on-farm veal calves’ responses to unfamiliar humans and potential influencing factors

Leruste

Bokkers

Heutinck

et al. 2012

Animal

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The human-animal relationship is an important component of the welfare of farm animals and for this reason animal responsiveness tests to humans are included in on-farm welfare assessment schemes that provide indicators for this. However, apart from the behaviour of stockpersons towards their animals, other factors may also influence animals' reactivity to humans as observed through behavioural tests, which can add a further layer of complexity to the interpretation of test results. Knowledge of these factors may help a better interpretation of differences from one farm to another in the outcome of human-animal relationship tests, and may provide clues for improving the relationship between animals and humans. The main objective of this study was to identify whether management or environmental factors could influence the outcome of human-animal relationship tests in veal calves. Two tests were performed when calves were aged 14.9 6 1.6 (SD) weeks in 148 veal farms: the voluntary approach of an unfamiliar human standing at the feeding fence and the reaction towards an unfamiliar human who entered the home pen and tried to touch each calf in a standardised way (Calf Escape Test (CET) -score 0 to 4). Questionnaires were filled in and interviews with the stockpersons were performed in order to obtain information on stockpersons, management, animal and building characteristics. The latency to touch an unfamiliar human at the feeding fence was significantly correlated with the CET scores. Total number of calves on the farm, space allowance, breed, environmental enrichment, stockperson's experience and season of observation influenced the percentage of calves that scored 0 in CET (i.e. calves that could not be approached). Type of milk distribution, type of breed and number of calves per stockperson influenced the percentage of calves that scored 4 in CET (i.e. calves could be touched). For both CET0 and CET4, the level of self-reported contacts by the stockperson (analysed only on the French subset of 36 farms) did not influence the results. This paper concludes that according to the tests conducted on veal calves on commercial farms, factors such as milk distribution method, breed of the calves or the level of experience of stockpersons with veal farming can have an impact on the results of tests focusing on human-animal relationships.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of on-farm veal calves’ responses to unfamiliar humans and potential influencing factors

Leruste

Bokkers

Heutinck

et al. 2012

Animal

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“…For instance, dairy cows are milked twice a day, and in the study by Lensink et al (2000a) veal calves were individually fed by the farmer. In contrast, close contacts are rare in beef bull production: mechanical feeding reduces contact time (Rushen et al, 1999) and group housing reduces humananimal interactions (Raussi, 2003). In addition, because fully grown bulls are dangerous animals, due to their size, horns and their tendency to express behaviour such as mounting, farmers generally avoid entering their pens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Positive attitudes of farmers and pen-group conservation reduce adverse reactions of bulls during transfer for slaughter

Mounier

Colson

Roux³

et al. 2008

Animal

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Transfer to slaughter may be very stressful for cattle and negatively affect their ultimate carcass pH. A potential link between farmers' attitudes, farmers' behaviour, responses of animals to handling and carcass pH in beef bull production was questioned. Whether carcass pH depends on experiences in handling and social mixing was analysed. We conducted a survey on commercial farms where we questioned farmers on their work and beliefs about bulls. Farmers' behaviour with bulls during a test and bulls' behaviour during loading in the truck for transport to the slaughterhouse were observed. The ultimate carcass pH was measured. Farmers tended to behave more gently with their bulls when they had positive attitudes towards gentle contacts with bulls (P 5 0.07). The loading of bulls in the truck tended to be more difficult when the farmer was more ready to approach his bulls (P 5 0.07). Carcass pH was higher for bulls that had not been transferred from a breeding to a finishing unit (P 5 0.03). It tended to be higher when the farmer did not display a gentle behaviour (P 5 0.09). The link between farmers' attitudes and farmers' behaviour and the lower meat pH resulting from a gentle farmers' behaviour during finishing are consistent with previous findings in pig, veal or dairy productions. However, the present links were weaker than in the other productions, probably due to the low frequency of close contacts between farmers and beef bulls. When loading bulls into a truck, handlers use the tendency of animals to avoid people, hence overly positive behaviour with the animals during finishing may result in more difficulties at loading. In that case, use of alternative driving aids should be recommended. Our results on carcass pH suggest some habituation to transport among bulls transferred between breeding and finishing, even though the two experiences are several months apart. In view of our results, it seems that contacts with bulls, when they are needed, should be gentle.

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“…Influência do manejo e do sistema de criação nas interações humano-animais O contato com seres humanos difere de acordo com o sistema de criação e está relacionado a uma série de fatores, como a frequência de interações com humanos, o número de animais criados em uma propriedade, a intensidade da produção e o seu grau de mecanização (RAUSSI, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

Particularidades relevantes da interação humano-animal para o bem-estar e produtividade de vacas leiteiras

et al. 2012

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Particularidades relevantes da interação humano-animal para o bem-estar e produtividade de vacas leiteirasParticularities of the human-animal interactions relevant to the welfare and productivity of dairy cows ABSTRACT Changes in the quality of interactions between animals and humans have a profound influence on the productivity and welfare of animals and, potentially, of humans involved in the dairy activity. Important alterations in these interactions can be obtained through training programs, or other forms of extension. To do so effectively, it is necessary to understand how interact the several aspects of this relationship, which includes besides the animals humans

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Human–cattle interactions in group housing

Cited by 70 publications

References 62 publications

Evaluation of on-farm veal calves’ responses to unfamiliar humans and potential influencing factors

Evaluation of on-farm veal calves’ responses to unfamiliar humans and potential influencing factors

Positive attitudes of farmers and pen-group conservation reduce adverse reactions of bulls during transfer for slaughter

Particularidades relevantes da interação humano-animal para o bem-estar e produtividade de vacas leiteiras

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