Agricultural Animal Welfare

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Agricultural Animal Welfare
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Does Agriculture improve the welfare of animals?
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or cause unnecessary suffering?
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This is not a question asked by many people of
the world
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A chicken in every pot, every Sunday!
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General Concerns (all species)

• Decreasing Genetic Variability

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Over 95 of Dairy cows in the U.S. are Holsteins,
yet there are hundreds of breeds representing a
broader range of genetics
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19 breeds just on BRITISH watch list (Rare Breeds
Survival Trust)
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Scottish Highland Cattle
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145 British breeds of sheep (22 on Watch
list) Rambouillet Predominant In U.S.
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Lack of genetic diversity occurs in many species,
including chickens, ducks, cattle, and sheep (and
is potentially dangerous - recall Irish potato
famine).
Muscovy Duck
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General Concerns (all species)

• Decreasing Genetic Variability
• Selection for Single Trait

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Selection pressure is often specific to one trait
which can create problems in other areas.
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Selection for lean pigs with low fat content
led to pigs with nervous and high strung
temperaments. Chickens with extra large
breasts grew so fast they developed arthritis
and deformed legs. Grandin Johnson 2005
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Also, breeds are not always suited for their
environment Hereford cattle in hot, humid south,
for example.
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General Concerns (all Ag species)

• Decreasing Genetic Variability
• Selection for Single Traits
• Dystocia

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Parturition problems can be the cause of severe
suffering in individual animals
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Causes of Dystocia

• Selection for large offspring in meat breeds
• Stress
• Age (less a problem on large operations)

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General Concerns (all Ag species)

• Decreasing Genetic Variability
• Selection for  Single Traits
• Dystocia
• Transport

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General Concerns (all Ag species)

• Decreasing Genetic Variability
• Selection for  Single Traits
• Dystocia
• Transport
• Slaughter
• Humane Slaughter Act (USDA enforced)
• Meat Institutes Good Mgt Practices for Animal
  Handling Stunning

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Humane Slaughter Act

• Passed 1978, enforced by USDA
• All animals must be dead or stunned before
  painful practice
• inspectors decreasing, USDA no longer tracks
  violations.

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Other concerns about the implementation of the
Humane Slaughter Act

• PROCESSING SPEED
• ( In US, remove hooves from 309/hour, or 5
  animals a minute or 3 seconds a hoof).
• Much slower in Europe (EU days)

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More guidelines from industry

• Meat Institutes Good Management
• Practices for Animal Handling and Stunning

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Improvements in Welfare in Processing Plants
A la Temple Grandin and McDonalds
(1999)
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Industry Wide Changes (Cattle)
1996 2002 2004
Killed when first stunned
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Video of processing plant design
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Sheep

• Most natural life, though protected from
  disease predation (to an extent)
• Most on pasture whole life, some lambs go to
  finishing pens for last month

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Sheep Welfare Concerns6.35 million head in
2003(56 mil in 1942)

• Predation

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Sheep Welfare Concerns

• Predation
• Dystocia

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Sheep Welfare Concerns

• Predation
• Dystocia
• Stress/ pain of vaccinating, tagging, docking
  castration

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Fly Strike
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Sheep Welfare Concerns

• Predation
• Dystocia
• Stress/ pain of vaccinating, tagging, docking
  castration
• Shearing?
• Transport and slaughter

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Beef Cattle

• Most of life on pasture (approx 1.5 years)
• Finished in feedlots, high protein corn diet
• 35 million breeding cows in U.S.
• 1.3 billion in world

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Beef Cattle Welfare Concerns

• Castration

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Beef Cattle Welfare Concerns

• Castration
• Transport Slaughter

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Beef Cattle Welfare Concerns

• Castration
• Transport Slaughter
• Time in feed lot odor, access to shade, food
  additives

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Dairy Cattle Welfare Concerns9.4 million in
U.S.

• Dystocia
• Mastitis

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Dairy Cattle Welfare Concerns

• Dystocia
• Mastitis
• Housing
• Veal calves (culled males)

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Dairy Cattle Welfare Concerns

• Dystocia
• Mastitis
• Housing
• Veal calves (culled males)
• Female calves taken away
• Tail Docking
• Transport/slaughter when culled

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Docking increase cleanliness,udder health?

• Tucker, Fraser and Weary 2001
• 223 docked
• 190 undocked
• No treatment differences in cleanliness or health
• Individuals differences significant

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Choice Experiment re Handling

• Pajor, Rushen and Passille 2003
• Choice in Y-maze between
• Shouting Handler
• Cattle Prod
• Tail twist
• Pail Feeding
• No difference between shout vs cattle prod
  tail twist not aversive

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Poultry Welfare Egg producers

• Male chicks

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Poultry Welfare Egg producers
Battery Cages banned in EU by 2012
Stocking density 5 hens/18 by 20
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Poultry Welfare Egg producers

• Male chicks
• Battery Cages
• Cost of building vs. labor ( in US)

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Average consumption per capita 254 eggs/year
(402/yr in 1945) 6.45 billion table eggs
produced in 2004 64 companies with over 1
million layers each, 11 companies with over 5
million layers each Total of 283 million hens
in 2004
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Behavioral Observations Welfare

• University of Guelph, Ian Duncan 2006
• How hard laying eggs work to
• reach a nest box?
• Asked to push against weighted door to get to
  nest box.
• Use same force, for same duration
• As if food deprived for 30 hours.

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Poultry Welfare Broilers/ fryers23 million/year

• Aggression/ debeaking
• Free range
• Selection for rapid growth - Satiety Center

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Free Range Irrelevant
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Broiler/fryers grow up to 22 wks normal growth
in 5 weeks.

• Chickens (and turkeys) found to have serious
  degenerative hip disorders.
• When administered pain killing meds, turkeys
  lay down less, walked more, showed more
  spontaneous activity.
• Hocking et al. 1999

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Consumer Choice Criteria

• Cost
• Taste (fatter is better)
• Convenience
• Nutrition/ wholesomeness
• Not ethics/ welfare

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Environmental Plusses

• Grazing Land is preserved
• from development