No description available.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology / Daniel U. Thomson / Beta-adrenergic agonists (βAA) are administered during the final weeks of the beef production system to improve efficiency and increase meat yield. Welfare concerns linked to the administration of βAA have garnered significant attention in recent years due to anecdotal reports of increased mortality during βAA feeding periods and cattle without obvious disease or injury having difficulty walking at abattoirs being overrepresented in cattle fed βAA. Thomson et al. (2015) reported 2 events where cattle were distressed, became non-responsive to handling, sloughed hoof walls and were euthanized while in lairage at the abattoir. Consistent blood abnormalities in euthanized cattle included elevated blood lactate (25.6 mmol/L; ref. range: < 4-5) and creatine kinase (CK; 6,890 U/L, ref. range: 159- 332). Although no causal relationship had been established, dialogues among groups of packers, animal scientists, and welfare experts implicating the βAA zilpaterol hydrochloride (ZIL; Zilmax®, Merck Animal Health, Desoto, KS) as one possible etiology resulted in a major beef packer announcing plans to stop accepting cattle fed ZIL. Consequently, Merck announced a self-imposed suspension of ZIL sales in U.S. and Canadian markets until further research could be conducted to investigate the manner. Utilization of technologies such as βAA are imperative to meeting the demands of a growing world population and verdicts regarding such technologies, including their impact on animal welfare, should be based on scientific merit. The first objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of shade on performance and animal well-being in cattle fed ZIL. The second objective was to characterize the clinical description and hematological profile of fatigued cattle presented to abattoirs. The third objective was to evaluate the effects of handling intensity during shipment for slaughter in cattle fed a βAA. The fourth objective was to evaluate the effects of βAA administration on performance and physiological response to different handling intensities during shipping for slaughter. Shade provision reduced open-mouth breathing and increased dry matter intake and dressing percentage. Fatigued cattle observed at abattoirs had increased respiratory rates and muscle tremors, although blood parameters were relatively normal compared to their cohorts. Metabolic acidosis, a precursor for Fatigued Cattle Syndrome, was observed in cattle exposed to aggressive handling regardless of βAA status. This research confirms the improved growth performance of cattle fed βAA and highlights the improvement of animal welfare through shade provision and low-stress handling in heavy-weight feedlot cattle.

Master of Science / Department of Clinical Sciences / Daniel U. Thomson / Cross-bred horned steers and heifers (n = 40; BW = 311.8 ± 4.7 kgs.) were used to determine the effect of dehorning methods on pain, cattle behavior and wound healing. Cattle were blocked by weight and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: 1) control (CON); 2) banded using high tension elastic rubber (BAND); 3) mechanically removed (MECH); or 4) tipped (TIP). Vocalization and behavior were recorded during the dehorning process. Wound healing scores, attitude, gait and posture, appetite, and lying were recorded daily. Data were analyzed using the Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test of SAS (Cary, NC). Vocalization scores were highest for MECH, and the BAND cattle vocalized more than TIP and CON (P < 0.05). There were treatment effects for gait and posture (P = 0.03), appetite (P = 0.01) and lying scores (P < 0.01), BAND cattle had higher scores (P < 0.10) in these parameters compared to MECH, TIP and CON cattle. There was treatment by time interactions for attitude (P < 0.01), horn bud (P < 0.01) and bleeding (P < 0.01). BAND cattle had increased attitude scores in weeks 1, 3 and 4 (P < 0.10), increased hornbud scores in weeks 3 and 4 (P < 0.05) and increased bleeding scores in week 3 (P < 0.05). These data indicate that MECH is a painful procedure for cattle at the time of the procedure. Banding to remove horns from cattle is not recommended based on the data and observations from this study.

Within the livestock sector, farmers and veterinarians are two groups of people who play a pivotal role in maintaining the health and welfare of animals. How the different welfare needs of farm animals are perceived and prioritised by these two caretaker groups will have direct implications for the animals in their care. People’s perceptions and attitudes directly influence their behaviour, and research has demonstrated that positive attitudes towards animals are paramount to ensuring good animal welfare. The prevention and mitigation of pain is an important component to ensuring good animal welfare, as pain has the potential to negatively affect both physical and mental health. How pain in animals is perceived by farmers and vets will influence how it is managed. Therefore, understanding how farmers and vets: view the capacity of animals to experience pain, perceive the pain severity associated with different conditions and procedures, view the importance of pain mitigation in relation to other welfare needs, and deem the necessity of analgesic use in livestock, is vital. Four separate questionnaire based studies were conducted to assess these attitudes in farmers and veterinarians as well as in agriculture and veterinary students, as these students will be the next generation of farmers and veterinarians. Overall, farmers and vets were found to have positive attitudes towards pain in livestock. Although the capacity of cattle and sheep to feel pain was perceived to be lower than that of humans it was still rated highly. In addition, positive beliefs about the benefits of pain alleviation, the negative impacts of pain on production and welfare, and the importance of prompt treatment and pain management for good welfare were held. Cattle farmers had more positive attitudes towards pain and analgesic use than sheep farmers. This difference was most evident around areas of resource availability, such as time and labour, and the practicalities associated with pain identification and drug provision. Farmers, vets and students perceived lameness to be a painful condition, with the perceived severity of pain being closely related to the perceived severity of the disease. In addition, participants reported a greater emotional reaction in instances where they rated lameness and pain more highly. Furthermore, a positive relationship was found between lameness, pain and emotional reaction scores and the decision to catch a lame sheep for inspection. The majority of students had positive views towards pain in farm animals, believing that: farm animals were capable of experiencing pain, prompt treatment and the provision of pain relief were the two most important elements of welfare, and that farm animals benefit from pain alleviation. However, there was a perceived difference between a number of animal species in their capacity to feel pain, with livestock species being viewed as having a lesser capacity than companion animals and humans. In addition effects of gender were found, with females reporting higher levels of empathy and compassion towards lame sheep, and rating pain higher. Furthermore, female students had a stronger belief that animals were sentient beings than did males. These four studies found that views on pain and analgesic use in livestock were generally positive. However, differences between individuals and between groups were found in a number of areas including how observers perceived the severity of painful conditions and procedures and in the capacity of different animal species to experience pain. These differences in attitudes may affect the decisions farmers and vets make regarding the treatment of pain, which is likely to have implications for farm animal welfare.

This research project addressed pain at parturition in pigs using three different approaches. Firstly, a survey study explored UK pig farmer and veterinarian attitudes to pain and the use of pain relief in order to understand the commercial context behind decisions relating to pain and its management. Secondly, an observational study was conducted to investigate the use of behaviour to assess pain associated with the process of giving birth (or farrowing) in pigs. A final experimental study was used to investigate the administration of a pain relief drug post-farrowing to improve pig welfare and increase productivity. In a questionnaire to farmers and veterinarians, individuals were asked to identify the anti-inflammatory drugs they used or prescribed and how often for selected conditions in pigs. They were also asked to rate the painfulness of different conditions and indicate their level of agreement with statements about pain and the use of pain relief. Results showed anti-inflammatories were widely used, with high agreement that pigs recovered better when given these drugs. Farmers and vets gave similar scores for painful conditions but females and younger respondents scored higher for specific conditions. The results suggest that potential barriers to the increased use of pain relief include a lack of up to date knowledge and communication between farmers and vets about pain and how best to treat it. A preliminary investigation was conducted to identify novel behavioural measures to assess pain in sows over the periparturient period. A set of spontaneous putative pain behaviours were characterised and quantified, using observations of sows before, during and after farrowing. These potential behavioural pain indicators were rare or absent before farrowing and the highest levels were seen during farrowing. For the post-farrowing observations, levels were highest for the immediate post-farrowing period and remained higher than pre-farrowing values up to 24 hours after the last piglet was born. Positive correlations between behavioural variables measured during and after farrowing indicate the individual consistency in the expression of these behaviours. Putative pain behaviours, along with other measures of welfare and productivity were then used to test the benefits of administering the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketoprofen, compared with a saline placebo, 1.5 hours post farrowing in primiparous and multiparous sows. No clear treatment differences were observed for the sow welfare measures, including the putative behavioural indicators of pain. For primiparous sows treated with ketoprofen, fewer piglets died, but this could be due to an unexpected treatment difference in piglet birth weight, which is strongly linked with piglet mortality. Further research is needed to validate the spontaneous behaviours used in this study as indicators of pain in periparturient sows.

Castration of male lambs is performed in all major sheep producing counties as a standard management practice. The reasons to castrate may be different and will depend on the size and type of the farm. Castration gives more control over genetics of the flock, stops inbreeding, unwanted pregnancies and behaviours. It also gives improved carcass characteristics. However, it has been shown that castration is painful and distressing to the animals. Different techniques are used to castrate sheep at the present time such as rubber ring, Burdizzo, combined, short scrotum, and surgical castration. Due to changing attitudes towards animal pain and unnecessary suffering there is a need for further development and implementation of new castration methods, efficient pain assessment techniques, animal welfare codes of practice and legislative requirements to improve lamb well-being. Recent increase of public concern regarding animal welfare is putting pressure on many government bodies to strengthen research in this area and increase attempts to regulate by law unnecessary suffering during standard livestock management practices. Immunocastration with an anti-GnRF vaccine has the potential to be an alternative to common physical castration methods. Nonetheless there is little or no information about the impact of vaccination against GnRF on the physiology of lambs (rams’ reproductive tract, endocrine regulation), emotionality (possible changes to normal behavioural patterns like increased aggression, anxiety) and health (is the vaccine safe to be used and if there are any adverse effects of vaccination like tissue damage, swelling, lesions etc.). There is also little or no information on how the vaccine affects sheep at the time of injection. This study investigates three main questions: Is Immunocastration a pain free alternative to traditional physical methods of castration? Is Immunocastration safe and practical to use? Does Immunocastration influence the male reproductive system in a way to achieve sterility without any negative impact on the ram natural behaviours, wellbeing and health?

The maintenance of both the psychological and physiological health of captive animals is a key priority of modern zoos. Recognising that characteristics of the captive environment have the potential to decrease animal welfare, methods for quantifying and assessing welfare have been developed as part of the process for improving animal welfare. Traditionally, observations of animal behaviour and quantifying time budgets in relation to those of the animals’ wild counterparts have been utilised to assess animal welfare. Hormonal assays have also been implemented to quantify the physiological stress response of animals in captivity and identify the extent of stress being experienced. Each of these methods focuses on a different indicator of animal welfare, is quantified in different ways and provides a different perspective on the welfare of the animals. Given the limited time and financial budgets available to zoos and animal carers, identifying the most appropriate method of welfare assessment would be advantageous in helping to secure the best possible health of captive animals and to maximise their value in captivity. This thesis implemented both behavioural observations and hormonal assays to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each methodology, and make recommendations for future research. The study involved a group of four Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) housed at Twycross Zoo. Behavioural observations involved continuous group sampling and the development of an ethogram to record a comprehensive account of orangutan activity over the course of a 12 week enrichment programme. Simultaneous to these observations, faecal samples were collected from each orangutan and processed via Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) to quantify levels of faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCM) in each sample. While recognising the recent developments in ecological analytical methods, the capacity for extending network analysis beyond the application to social networks, and its use as a welfare assessment tool were explored. Behavioural and space-use networks were developed using data from a second study of the orangutans housed at Twycross Zoo. The flexibility of network analysis in visually representing different data types allowed for the intuitive representation of complex behavioural data. Further research investigated the use of network metrics in providing deeper insights into animal behaviour and space use patterns. In addition, bipartite networks were assessed for their potential to detect and show patterns in the relationships between two sets of behavioural data. Each of the methods used had a number of strengths and weaknesses, but importantly each contributed a different perspective in the assessment of behaviour patterns and welfare, suggesting that an integrated approach to behaviour studies utilising several methods would be ideal. Cost and logistic constraints make this unlikely in most cases. However, the thesis ends with a look to the future and the recognition that the current rapid development of technology for use in animal behaviour studies, coupled with equally rapid development of analytical techniques, may help to dramatically increase the amount of information gained from the average animal behaviour study in the future. Such improvements have never been more urgent, with the requirement for understanding animal behaviour in light of current extinction rates within the context of habitat destruction and climate change. It is hoped that this thesis will make a contribution to improving future animal behaviour and welfare studies by providing an assessment of both traditional methods of study as well as demonstrating the use and potential of new ways of applying network analysis within such studies.

This dissertation examines anew the value of wilderness and arguments used in defense of its preservation. The rationale for the examination is the force of the moral argument against policies of preserving wilderness areas, based upon their negative impact on the welfare of sentient life. This argument is accordingly dubbed the ‘Objection from Welfare’ (OFW). The dissertation’s central contention is that an adequate defense of wilderness preservation must be grounded in a value possessed by wilderness areas that generates at least as strong a reason to protect them as the OFW generates to oppose them. At present, no such rational, secular defense exists. Chapter One rehabilitates the idea of wilderness as the natural world maximally free from human intervention, and then disarms five persistent objections to this idea, arguing that it poses no insurmountable philosophical difficulties. Chapter Two argues that concern for animal welfare generates a pro tanto moral reason to oppose wilderness (i.e., OFW), thus demonstrating that wilderness preservation is ethically more complicated than is typically allowed. Chapters Three and Four argue that no justifiable ascription of intrinsic value to wilderness supports a nonanthropocentric conception of its value and that, consequently, a defense of wilderness simply as wilderness (wilderness qua wilderness) must be anthropocentric. According to this argument, wilderness’ distinctive value qua wilderness is ironically the anthropocentric value of a worldly domain maximally other-than-human. Neglect of this value is, it is shown, a common shortcoming of philosophical arguments for wilderness preservation. Chapter Five considers the extent to which wilderness’ distinctive value generates reasons to dispute the OFW effectively. In this regard, an analogy is drawn between bioethics and environmental ethics, i.e., between Michael Sandel’s defense of the gifted character of human nature and a defense of wilderness qua wilderness. Yet, while the analogy with Sandel’s notion of giftedness enhances an anthropocentric valuation of wilderness, it does not yield reasons strong enough to reject the OFW. Finally, I suggest that a fundamental defense of wilderness may require a spiritual or religious valuation of wilderness such that the moral force of the OFW could be suspended without being rejected. / 2020-12-11T00:00:00Z

There is increasing pressure from animal rights organizations (AROs) on restaurant chains, food retailers, and meat processors to implement more stringent farm animal welfare (FAW) requirements for their suppliers. In the United States, AROs have recently initiated successful ballots to phase out confinement practices in several states. In Canada AROs have been pressuring both public and private sector stakeholders to improve FAW. Are FAW issues, however, paramount in the minds of Canadian consumers? Is the demand for more stringent FAW protocols primarily determined by a subset of consumers with very strong preferences or does it signal a more fundamental underlying change in consumer and societal preferences? Given the credence nature of FAW, who do consumers trust (i.e., government vs. private industry vs. independent third parties) in the market place for the provision of FAW quality assurances? What are the determinants of trust in these organizations for providing accurate information about animal welfare?<p> In order to answer these questions, a stated preference consumer survey encompassing FAW issues specific to the Canadian pork sector was tested on two samples of consumers in summer 2008, namely: a general population sample (GPS) across Canada and a sample of AROs members. Consumers participated in a purchase experiment where they had to chose between pork chops characterized by combinations of different levels of FAW attributes (i.e., housing system, gestation stalls, and use of antibiotics), quality verifying organization, and price. Multinomial Logit and Latent Class Logit Models were used to analyse the survey data.<p> Surprisingly, outdoor system does not seem to resonate well with Canadians, as both the GPS and the members of the AROs discounted this attribute. As expected, the AROs members have much stronger preferences for the other FAW attributes than have consumers in the GPS. Nevertheless, significant heterogeneity exists within consumer preferences. Five classes of consumers were identified in the GPS with respect to their preferences for FAW. At one end of the spectrum are the FAW sensitive consumers (12.3%) that have higher willingness-to-pay (WTP) for FAW, while at the other end of the spectrum Price Conscious consumers (18.3%) do not exhibit any WTP for FAW. The other three classes (69.4%) comprise respondents with mixed perceptions regarding FAW. Government and Third Party verification of FAW quality assurances had the strongest influence on consumers preferences in both samples. As well, scientific experts in FAW along with the above two organizations are the most credible in providing information about the welfare of pigs. The extent to which these organizations are knowledgeable about the welfare of pigs is the most important factor enhancing consumers trust. Results from this study suggest that there are potential marketing opportunities for pork chops sourced from pigs raised on farms where sows are kept in groups, and where credible quality assurances can be established, that private industry could consider. As well, the results suggest that consumers would derive benefits from the government taking a more active role with respect to validating FAW quality assurances.

L’objectiu d’aquesta tesi és avaluar i discutir l’aplicació pràctica, la validesa i la repetibilitat d’un sistema d’avaluació del benestar en granges comercials de porcs d’engreix. La capacitat d’aplicació, la sensibilitat, selectivitat, validesa contextual i repetibilitat al llarg del temps de les mesures basades en l'animal incloses al protocol Welfare Quality® es van avaluar mitjançant cinc estudis. A més a més, al llarg de la tesi es va considerar la utilització del protocol com a eina d’assessorament per resoldre problemes de benestar. En el primer estudi es presenta una anàlisi descriptiva de les mesures basades en l’animal incloses al protocol d’avaluació del benestar. En aquest treball es va avaluar tant l’aplicació pràctica del protocol en 30 granges intensives com la seva capacitat per discriminar-les entre sí. Tanmateix, el treball proposa una metodologia pràctica per identificar granges que presenten algun problema de benestar. Al segon i tercer estudi, es van avaluar un total de 11,647 porcs allotjats en 91 explotacions comercials provinents de tres sistemes intensius (convencional a França i Espanya, sobre palla a França, i Ibèric intensiu a Espanya) així com dos sistemes extensius (Ibèric en extensiu, Porc Negre Mallorquí) mitjançant el protocol Welfare Quality®. Tot dos estudis descriuen dades sobre la prevalença i distribució de diversos indicadors de benestar en una gran varietat d’explotacions amb la finalitat d’identificar una sèrie de factors causals. Els resultats corresponents als principis de bona alimentació i bon allotjament es presenten en el segon estudi mentre que els de salut es descriuen en el tercer. El quart estudi es centra en l’avaluació del benestar mitjançant mesures de comportament en porcs Ibèrics en condicions intensives i extensives. En aquest treball, el quart principi del Welfare Quality®, titulat “comportament adequat”, es va avaluar en 21 granges (11 extensives i 10 intensives), les quals allotjaven una totalitat de 25,856 porcs Ibèrics. Finalment, el cinquè estudi avalua, en una mostra de 15 granges intensives convencionals, la repetibilitat després d'un temps perllongat de les mesures basades en l’animal incloses en el protocol Welfare Quality®. Els resultats es van discutir des d’un punt de vista discriminatiu i avaluatiu. Com a comentari general, el protocol Welfare Quality® per porcs d’engreix es pot aplicar fàcilment en una gran varietat d’explotacions comercials. Tot i així, la durada total del protocol pot ser percebuda com a massa llarga per part d’alguns dels agents implicats (com ara ramaders, industria o empreses certificadores). La sensibilitat dels indicadors de salut és aparentment massa baixa. La interpretació d’alguns resultats en termes de benestar animal, especialment els de comportament, s’ha de realitzar amb molta cura sobretot quan es comparen explotacions provinents de sistemes de cria molt diversos. Una interpretació equivocada d’un resultat pot erròniament afavorir o perjudicar un ramader o un sistema. Finalment, el protocol Welfare Quality® pot tenir enfocaments diversos que poden ser pràctics i complementaris com a eina d’assessorament, tot i que es va dissenyar com una eina per auditar. / The objective of the present thesis is to evaluate and discuss the feasibility, validity and repeatability of a welfare assessment system for growing pigs on commercial farms. The feasibility, sensitivity, selectivity, contextual validity and repeatability over time of several animal-based measures of the Welfare Quality® (WQ®) protocol were evaluated in five studies. Furthermore, across the thesis, the use of the protocol as an advisory tool is considered. The first study presents a descriptive analysis of several animal-based measures of the welfare assessment protocol for pigs kept under intensive conventional conditions on 30 farms in Spain. It evaluates the feasibility of the protocol on intensive farms and its capacity to discriminate among intensive conventional farms. It also aims to propose a practical methodology to identify farms with a particular welfare problem. On the second and third studies, a total of 11,647 pigs housed on 91 commercial farms of three intensive systems (conventional in France and Spain, straw bedded in France, and Iberian intensive in Spain) as well as two extensive systems (Iberian extensive, Mallorcan Black pig) were assessed applying the overall WQ® protocol. Both studies yielded data about the prevalence and distribution of several welfare outcomes on a wide variety of commercial farms with the aim to identify possible causal factors. The results from the good feeding and housing principles are presented in the second study whereas those of health are given in the third study. The fourth study focused on the assessment of welfare through behavioural measures in Iberian pigs in intensive and extensive conditions. The fourth principle of the WQ® protocol, labelled “Appropriate behaviour”, was assessed on 21 farms (11 extensive and 10 intensive) housing a total of 25,856 Iberian pigs. Changes in occurrence of behaviour and qualitative measures were evaluated and discussed when comparing Iberian pigs either in intensive or extensive rearing conditions. Finally, the fifth study evaluated the test-retest repeatability over a long period of time of the mean prevalence of several measures from the WQ® protocol on a sample of 15 intensive conventional farms of growing pigs. The results were discussed from a discriminative approach and from an evaluative approach. As a general comment, the WQ® protocol for growing pigs is feasible in a wide range of commercial conditions even though the overall duration may be perceived as too long by stakeholders. The sensitivity of health indicators appears to be low. Interpretation of several outcomes, especially behavioural ones, in terms of animal welfare, must be cautious, especially when comparing farm units from diverse rearing systems. An erroneous interpretation of an outcome can wrongly favour or prejudice a farmer. Several approaches of the WQ® protocol can be practical and complementary to be used for advisory purposes.