Qualitative Behavioural Assessment as a Method to Identify Potential Stressors during Commercial Sheep Transport

Collins, Teresa; Stockman, C.; Barnes, Anne; Miller, David; Wickham, Sarah L.; Fleming, Patricia A.

doi:10.3390/ani8110209

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Transport involves mixing with other animals, novel experiences (new environment and people) and prolonged standing, often after periods of water and feed withdrawal (Collins et al., 2018 ). Therefore, depending on the conditions, transport constitutes a moderate to severe stress in animals, and the physiological stresses induced can be relatively long‐lasting (Knowles et al., 1995 ).…”

Section: Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare of sheep and goats at slaughter

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2021

EFS2

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The killing of sheep and goats for human consumption (slaughtering) can take place in a slaughterhouse or on-farm. The processes of slaughtering that were assessed for welfare, from the arrival of sheep and goats until their death (including slaughtering without stunning), were grouped into three main phases: pre-stunning (including arrival, unloading from the truck, lairage, handling and moving of sheep and goats); stunning (including restraint); and bleeding. Stunning methods were grouped into two categories: mechanical and electrical. Twelve welfare consequences that sheep and goats may experience during slaughter were identified: heat stress, cold stress, fatigue, prolonged thirst, prolonged hunger, impeded movement, restriction of movements, resting problems, social stress, pain, fear and distress. These welfare consequences and their relevant animal-based measures are described in detail in this Scientific Opinion. In total, 40 welfare hazards that could occur during slaughter were identified and characterised, most of them related to stunning and bleeding. Staff were identified as the origin of 39 hazards, which were attributed to the lack of appropriate skill sets needed to perform tasks or to fatigue. Measures to prevent and correct hazards were identified, and structural and managerial measures were identified as those with a crucial role in prevention. Outcome tables linking hazards, welfare consequences, animal-based measures, origin of hazards and preventive and corrective measures were developed for each process. Mitigation measures to minimise welfare consequences are proposed.

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Section: Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Welfare of sheep and goats at slaughter

Nielsen¹,

Álvarez²,

Bicout³

et al. 2021

EFS2

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“…More and more evidence suggests that QBA is a reliable, dynamic qualitative method for positive-emotion and welfare assessment ( Stockman et al, 2011 ; Fleming et al, 2016 ; Minero et al, 2016 , 2018 ; Collins et al, 2018 ; Patel et al, 2019 ). This tool seems to be particularly beneficial in assessing the overall well-being of dogs, for example, in a shelter environment ( Walker et al, 2016 ; Arena et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Conclusion and Further Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where Do We Stand in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) Positive-Emotion Assessment: A State-of-the-Art Review and Future Directions

Csoltova¹,

Mehinagic²

2020

Front. Psychol.

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Although there have been a growing number of studies focusing on dog welfare, the research field concerning dog positive-emotion assessment remains mostly unexplored. This paper aims to provide a state-of-the-art review and summary of the scattered and disperse research on dog positive-emotion assessment. The review notably details the current advancement in dog positive-emotion research, what approaches, measures, methods, and techniques have been implemented so far in emotion perception, processing, and response assessment. Moreover, we propose possible future research directions for short-term emotion as well as longer-term emotional states assessment in dogs. The review ends by identifying and addressing some methodological limitations and by pointing out further methodological research needs.

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“…Over the past few years, due to changes in societal belief and values and improved scientific understanding of animals, researchers are asked for identifying animal-based indicators to assess animals’ emotional states and their association with animal welfare assessment [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. Qualitative behavior assessment (QBA) has been recently used as a tool to evaluate the affective state of animals during transport [ 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 ] and distinguish between groups of animals accustomed and naïve to transport [ 10 , 26 ]. QBA method requires scoring individuals’ or group of animals’ behaviors using different range of both positive and negative qualitative terms (i.e., apathetic, aggressive, content) on a Visual Analogue Scale [ 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of QBA to Assess the Emotional State of Horses during the Loading Phase of Transport

Dai¹,

Riva

Costa

et al. 2022

Animals

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To identify feasible indicators to evaluate animals’ emotional states as a parameter to assess animal welfare, the present study aimed at investigating the accuracy of free choice profiling (FCP) and fixed list (FL) approach of Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) in horses during the loading phase of transport. A total of 13 stakeholders were trained to score 2 different sets of videos of mixed breed horses loaded for road transport, using both FCP and FL, in 2 sessions. Generalized Procustes Analysis (GPA) consensus profile explained a higher percentage of variation (80.8%) than the mean of 1000 randomized profiles (41.2 ± 1.6%; p = 0.001) for the FCP method, showing an excellent inter-observer agreement. GPA identified two main factors, explaining 65.1% and 3.7% of the total variation. Factor 1 ranging from ‘anxious/ to ‘calm/relaxed’, described the valence of the horses’ emotional states. Factor 2, ranging from ‘bright’ to ‘assessing/withdrawn’, described the arousal. As for FL, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) first and second components (PC1 and PC2, respectively), explaining on average 59.8% and 12.6% of the data variability, had significant agreement between observers. PC1 ranges from relaxed/confident to anxious/frightened, while PC2 from alert/inquisitive to calm. Our study highlighted the need for the use of descriptors specifically selected, throughout a prior FCP process for the situation we want to evaluate to get a good QBA accuracy level.

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Qualitative Behavioural Assessment as a Method to Identify Potential Stressors during Commercial Sheep Transport

Cited by 11 publications

References 38 publications

Welfare of sheep and goats at slaughter

Welfare of sheep and goats at slaughter

Where Do We Stand in the Domestic Dog (Canis familiaris) Positive-Emotion Assessment: A State-of-the-Art Review and Future Directions

Application of QBA to Assess the Emotional State of Horses during the Loading Phase of Transport

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