Welfare Problems in Cattle, Pigs, and Sheep that Persist Even Though Scientific Research Clearly Shows How to Prevent Them

Abstract

Simple SummaryGreat strides have been made to improve animal welfare. Unfortunately, there are certain problems that continue to persist. The causes of these problems range from a lack of financial accountability for losses, failure to measure them, or repeating old mistakes. Some examples of persistent problems are bruises, failure to vaccinate cattle, and high percentages of lame livestock. Both good management practices and providing the right financial incentives will improve welfare.AbstractPoor production and handling practices continue to persist that are both detrimental to animal welfare and financially burdensome. These practices continue to persist for three reasons: (1) a segmented marketing chain where a producer is not held financially accountable for losses; (2) failure to measure and assess chronic painful problems such as lame livestock; and (3) repeating old mistakes, such as housing fattening cattle for long periods of time on bare concrete. Two examples of the first type of losses are bruises caused by poor handling and sick cattle at feedlots caused by failure to vaccinate and precondition weaned calves at the farm of origin. In some segmented marketing systems, there is no economic incentive to vaccinate. When the animals get sick, the responsibility gets passed to the next person. Buyers of meat products can reduce these “passed on” losses by source verification. The first step to reducing problems, such as lame livestock, is to measure the percentage of lame animals and work with the producers to reduce them. Also, transportation payments should be changed and contracts should be based on the condition of the animals at delivery.

Human Relationships with Domestic and Other Animals: One Health, One Welfare, One Biology

“…There should be space, at any given time, for all animals to lie down simultaneously with sufficient space between them for thermoregulation and movement. The group size should allow the recognition of all individuals and stable social cohesion [83].…”

Uncoupling Meat From Animal Slaughter and Its Impacts on Human-Animal Relationships

“…The main prompt for the development of these more efficient ways of producing meat is that the human population is expected to grow to 9.1 billion by the year 2050, which coupled with increased affluence that supports greater expenditure on food, requires annual meat production to raise substantially to 470 million tones ( FAO, 2012 ). The need to alleviate food shortages and poverty suggests further intensification of animal production systems ( FAO, 2018a ), which is often associated with poor animal welfare ( Bessei, 2006 ; Stafford and Gregory, 2008 ; Grandin, 2018 ). However, even with the development of incremental technologies for the intensification of production, the necessary gain in future meat production from agriculture may not be achieved ( FAO, 2012 ).…”

An outlook on livestock welfare conditions in African communities — A review

“…For instance, some northern Nigeria slaughterhouses were noted to be inconsistent with antemortem and postmortem inspection practices of slaugh ter animals, neglecting hygiene measurements and posing a public health threat [71]. Some African cultures perform slaughter on animals in their conscious state [69], paying little/ no attention to following the suggested humane handling or slaughter practices [72]. While scientifically, animal vocal ization is a stress indicator, culturally it may symbolize the success (i.e.…”

“…Seeing that the AW concept has economic implications [72], it is imperative that the governments assume their role in driv ing the directives on its functionality in the continent. There is a possibility that the legal framework and guidelines in some African countries have been developed but are not yet publicly available and therefore not well known [100].…”