Review: Assessment of dairy cow welfare at pasture: measures available, gaps to address, and pathways to development of ad-hoc protocols

Aubé, L.; Mialon, Marie-Madeleine; Mollaret, E.; Mounier, Luc; Veissier, Isabelle; Roches, Alice de Boyer Des

doi:10.1016/j.animal.2022.100597

Cited by 15 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…The measurement methods for each of the 32 measures are summarised in Table 1 , Table 2 , Table 3 and Table 4 , along with their threshold values. Due to the lack of established thresholds for welfare measures for pasture-based dairy cows [ 16 ], thresholds were set based on the authors’ opinion, guided, when available, by published recommendations. We assigned three categories of welfare to most measures: acceptable welfare (represented by green), marginal welfare (represented by orange), and unacceptable welfare (represented by red) as in Kaurivi et al [ 15 ], but where marginal welfare was thought to be an inappropriate category, e.g., for the question “do you use pain relief for disbudding”, we assigned only two categories (red and green) (see Table 1 , Table 2 , Table 3 and Table 4 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicability of a Time-Limited Welfare Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Farms, and a Preliminary Assessment of Welfare Outcome Thresholds

Sapkota¹,

Laven²,

Müller³

et al. 2022

Animals

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This study assessed a new time-limited protocol developed for pasture-based cows across 23 dairy farms. The process started prior to milking with a questionnaire, followed by an assessment of resources (16 farms only) and behavioural observation of cows at pasture. Remaining animal-based measures were assessed during milking, usually by two assessors (one parlour based and one outside). The protocol proved to be practical and feasible with limited changes needed, except for the assessment of water availability and behaviour. As most cows could access only one water trough, distance between troughs was not a measure of water availability, while the observation of a large numbers of cows at pasture for 30 min resulted in few observations and an uncertain denominator (effective number of observed cows). Further research is needed to determine the best way of assessing water availability and cow behaviour in a time-limited assessment of pasture-based cows. Three animal-based measures (broken tails, dirtiness, and coughing) had mean values higher than the author-determined acceptable thresholds, while <50% of farms met trough cleanliness and track condition targets, and none met the criteria for shelter and shade. This was a sample of farms based on convenience, so more data are required to establish the representativeness of these results. Such testing should involve assessment of the repeatability and reliability of the measures in our protocol.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Practicability of a Time-Limited Welfare Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Farms, and a Preliminary Assessment of Welfare Outcome Thresholds

Sapkota¹,

Laven²,

Müller³

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…), observation of the competitive behavior of cattle in front of water sources, and the cleanliness of the water (absence of odors and strange colors) [16,43,45]. Other alternatives are (a) evaluation of the distance traveled by the animals to access water, because it has been suggested that if the water supply sources are located more than 250 m away, cattle decrease their water consumption [15], but animals in tropical conditions have a permanent supply of green forage, which decreases fresh water consumption by animals; (b) how access to water is managed during grazing [43]; and (c) feeding strategies to check that the pasture provides sufficient nutrients during grazing [15].…”

Section: Good Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Body condition scoring is an effective measure of medium-term energy balance and is proposed as a unique indicator to assess nutritional performance on dairy farms in New Zealand [44] and considered feasible in this methodology with animal sampling. This procedure was performed on horseback to obtain a close proximity to the cattle and is considered efficient by other authors [15]. Optionally, the measurement of body condition could be performed in the pen during the vaccination process of the animals or by monitoring the batches in the slaughterhouses, through the evaluation of hot and cold carcass yield, as has been proposed in swine in Colombia [45].…”

Section: Good Nutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Worldwide, studies show that a large proportion of dairy cows are raised in systems with access to pasture for at least part of the year, as is the case for 90% of cows in France, 95 to 100% in Ireland, 99% in Australia and New Zealand [13,14]; however, these systems differ in the management of fattening cattle in tropical systems. Additionally, some of the measures used for animal welfare assessment under confinement conditions (e.g., lameness score, social behavior), are relevant also for grazing cattle [15]; however, it is not feasible to transfer assessment protocols developed for intensive systems to grazing systems, because each system needs a specific protocol and the proposed indicators are not necessarily suitable, relevant, feasible or measurable under grazing conditions [15,16]. Therefore, protocols with an evidence-based approach are needed to assess animal welfare in extensive fattening systems in tropical climates [2].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Study of the Feasibility of Proposed Measures to Assess Animal Welfare for Zebu Beef Farms within Pasture-Based Systems under Tropical Conditions

Romero,

Barrero-Melendro,

Sanchez

2023

Animals

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Pasture-based production systems are predominant in major beef-producing countries; however, these systems lack validated protocols to assess animal welfare under commercial conditions. The objective of this study was to test the feasibility of the proposed measures and methodology for the evaluation of animal welfare in fattening cattle under pasture conditions. The initial methodology was developed with the participation of producers, professionals, the general public, and the Colombian health authority, through workshops with a participatory approach and collaborative knowledge management. The study was carried out in 24 pasture-based commercial Zebu cattle farms in the middle Magdalena region of Colombia. Visits were made with an average duration of 2.5 h, which included the evaluation of 788 fattening cattle. The methodology evaluated animal-based, resource-based, and management-based indicators through a questionnaire-guided interview to evaluate cattle handling and health, animal-based measurements, and documentation management. A protocol validation process was carried out by selecting indicators that remained unchanged, adjusting those that were feasible to implement, and removing inadequate indicators. The application of the methodology demonstrated that there are feasible measures to include in the evaluation protocols of pasture-based fattening systems. Likewise, the active participation of producers is crucial to achieving a greater commitment to the implementation of this methodology for the assessment of animal welfare in cattle under pasture conditions.

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“…The general aim is to counteract the abandonment of mountain farming areas which, if appropriately used and managed, can contribute to ensure real protection of the territory, biodiversity, prevention of hydrogeological risk, and soil erosion, and, consequently, adaptation to climate change (4, 14). However, the action of grazing also involves other aspects that affect animals and need to be considered, such as feed quality and availability, predation, parasitosis, environmental conditions, and biosecurity for transmissible diseases between flocks/herds and wild animals (15). Therefore, animal welfare must be monitored also in grazing animals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Goat hair as a bioindicator of environmental contaminants and adrenal activation during vertical transhumance

Agradi,

Munga,

Barbato

et al. 2023

Front. Vet. Sci.

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Autochthonous breeds of livestock are considered a pivotal genetic resource for agriculture, rural development, and food and nutrition security. In the Italian Alps, local livestock breeds are maintained using the traditional alpine farming system based on vertical transhumance, with the use of alpine pastures from late spring to autumn and indoor housing with a hay-based diet for the remaining part of the year. Because of their tight link with the territory of origin, local breeds could be used to biomonitor environmental contaminations. Moreover, animal welfare should also be monitored during transhumance in animals, which are exposed to a sudden farming system change and different types of stressors. For these reasons, this investigation hypothesized that the content of trace elements, heavy metals, and cortisol in the hair of goats changes during vertical transhumance, possibly reflecting different dietary contents and activity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. This study aimed to assess the response of an Italian local goat breed to the change from indoor housing to alpine pasture in summer in terms of hair concentrations of (i) trace elements and heavy metals and (ii) cortisol. The regrown hair of Frisa goats was monthly collected for 2 consecutive years (n = 10 for heavy metals and trace elements and n = 6 for cortisol in 2021, n = 17 for both analyses in 2022), once before vertical transhumance and twice after that event. Hair was then analyzed for trace elements, heavy metals, and cortisol by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) and enzyme immunoassay (EIA), respectively. Data were analyzed by multilevel models. The results showed an increase in As content during alpine pasture (p < 0.01), probably reflecting the soil and water As contents of the grazing area, while Mg, Zn, and Al (p < 0.01) followed the opposite trend, decreasing in the second month after vertical transhumance. Hair cortisol concentrations increased during 2 months of alpine pasture (p < 0.001), indicating an increase in the activation of the HPA axis, in agreement with previous studies. Future investigations can consider a longer study period and the development of ad hoc animal welfare indicators.

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Review: Assessment of dairy cow welfare at pasture: measures available, gaps to address, and pathways to development of ad-hoc protocols

Cited by 15 publications

References 88 publications

Practicability of a Time-Limited Welfare Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Farms, and a Preliminary Assessment of Welfare Outcome Thresholds

Practicability of a Time-Limited Welfare Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Farms, and a Preliminary Assessment of Welfare Outcome Thresholds

Study of the Feasibility of Proposed Measures to Assess Animal Welfare for Zebu Beef Farms within Pasture-Based Systems under Tropical Conditions

Goat hair as a bioindicator of environmental contaminants and adrenal activation during vertical transhumance

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