Animal Welfare Assurance – Impacts on Cattle Production and Export Markets

Abstract

Given the strong and sustained public interest in animal welfare, globally sustainable agricultural systems must include animal welfare within the areas of consideration. Animal welfare relates to an animal’s quality of life and can range from very good to very poor. A number of conceptual frameworks have been proposed for animal welfare and humane animal care. To varying degrees, these frameworks include aspects of animal health and animal behavior, with relative importance of these criteria weighted by ethics or values. Animal care standards may be dictated by legislation, but are increasingly governed through purchasing decisions by food companies and retailers. Animal welfare assessment protocols that include animal-based parameters provide farmers with benchmarking data for comparison between and within farms, as well as flexibility to modify husbandry or housing when addressing weaknesses within the farm system. Within the laboratory and on commercial farms, researchers are identifying solutions to key animal welfare issues in cattle production, including painful husbandry procedures, restrictive housing and cow comfort, calf feeding, care of the compromised cow and low stress handling.