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Selection of Parameters for On-Farm Welfare-Assessment Protocols in Cattle and Buffalo

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2023

C Winckler ,
J Capdeville ,
G Gebresenbet ,
B Hörning ,
U Roiha ,
M Tosi  and
S Waiblinger
C Winckler*
Affiliation:
Research Centre for Animal Production and Technology, University of Göttingen, Driverstrasse 22, D-49377 Vechta, Germany
J Capdeville
Affiliation:
Institut d'Elévage, Lyon, France
G Gebresenbet
Affiliation:
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
B Hörning
Affiliation:
University of Kassel, Witzenhausen, Germany
U Roiha
Affiliation:
University of Helsinki, Mikkeli, Finland
M Tosi
Affiliation:
University of Milan, Italy
S Waiblinger
Affiliation:
Veterinary University, Vienna, Austria
*
* Contact for correspondence and requests for reprints: University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Department of Livestock Sciences, Gregor-Mendel-Strasse 33, A-1180 Vienna, Austria; christoph.winckler@boku.ac.at
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Abstract

On-farm welfare-assessment protocols should be based on valid, reliable and feasible indicators which reflect the animal's state in the context of the housing and management system. This paper focuses on the selection of parameters for cattle and buffalo from welfare research, from assessment protocols used in different European countries and from the literature. Three groups of parameters are described: (1) parameters which can readily be included, such as lameness, injuries, body condition score, cleanliness, getting up/lying down behaviour, agonistic social behaviour, oral abnormal behaviours, human behaviour toward the animals and measures of the animal-human relationship; (2) parameters which require more information on reliability, such as indicators of good welfare and housing factors; and (3) parameters which are regarded as important but so far lack reliability in most countries, such as the incidence of clinical diseases and mortality.

Keywords

animal-based parametersanimal welfarebuffalocattleon-farm welfare assessment
Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Welfare , Volume 12 , Issue 4: Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on the Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level , November 2003 , pp. 619 - 624
Copyright
© 2003 Universities Federation for Animal Welfare

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