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Perception of animal welfare issues during Chinese transport and slaughter of livestock by a sample of stakeholders in the industry
Abstract and Figures
China is the world’s biggest livestock producer, and has a rapidly expanding intensive livestock production in response to growing demand. The large size of the country and geographical dispersion of the livestock production systems means that animals are often transported long distances to slaughter. This study investigated perceptions of animal welfare issues by stakeholders in the Chinese transport and slaughter industry using utility scores and adaptive conjoint analysis. An initial workshop for experts in this field identified key concerns; these were then included in a questionnaire, which was distributed electronically to stakeholders. Stakeholders, particularly those with higher levels of education, were most concerned about the absence of pre-slaughter stunning and failure to maintain unconsciousness throughout the slaughter process. For all livestock species electrical stunning was considered the best method of stunning and blunt trauma the worst; for cattle and sheep stunning using a penetrating captive bolt was considered preferable to the use a percussive captive bolt. Other concerns considered very important were journey quality and livestock workers’ experience and attitudes. Heat stress and closed-sided vehicles were of greater concern than cold stress. Loading facilities and journey length were considered of intermediate importance, while lairage and methods for catching chickens were of least concern. The importance of some welfare concerns, e.g. livestock having to remain standing during a journey, was more commonly recognised by stakeholders who reported a high level of knowledge and experience. Therefore, these welfare issues could be a focus for future training activities. Compared to respondents directly involved in livestock transport, respondents involved in teaching and researching within livestock production rated the presented animal welfare issues as more important. These results can be used to guide development of training programmes, animal welfare research, and certification and regulatory control to target challenges to animal welfare in livestock transport and slaughter in China.
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... Lo anterior ha suscitado la intervención de diversos actores de la sociedad como la Asociación China de Normalización, la Asociación China de Medicina Veterinaria y el sector gubernamental en búsqueda de regular las prácticas que impacten el BA durante el transporte. Se han presentado propuestas de ley; sin embargo, estas no han sido aceptadas y publicadas con vigilancia obligatoria, dando lugar a que no exista legislación específica en este país y se registren aún malas prácticas sin observancia (Li et al., 2018). En otro sentido y siguiendo con observancias obligatorias, países como Australia, en donde el búfalo de agua es considerado dentro de su producción de proteína mediante carne y leche, se ha valorado como ganado de alta eficiencia debido a sus capacidades para aprovechar los recursos forrajeros y propiedades de los subproductos, además de incluir entre sus ventajas su contribución en la reducción de incendios forestales debido a su hábitat en charcas. ...
... C. Búfalo a punto de ser movilizado, al cual se le realizó una selección previa a su embarque con el objetivo de no movilizar animales de diferentes tamaños y edades. Sobre el particular, algunas guías de países como China recomiendan el transporte y sacrificio de animales de 24 meses de edad con grupos de edades similares con el fin de evitar decomisos cuando no se cumplen con estándares calidad e inocuidad de la carne (Li et al., 2018). En otros países como Bangladesh es se han realizado estudios relacionados con el impacto generado por una planificación deficiente y el no contemplar movilizaciones de grupos homogéneos, así, en 2010 se realizó un estudio relacionado con el diseño de vehículos, encontrando que de un total de 192 búfalos de agua, el 95.3% de ellos muestra abrasiones, la cual se describe con mayor detalle en la Figura 4 (Alam et al., 2010a). ...
... Additionally, some previous studies demonstrate that livestock industry stakeholders also express concern for animal welfare during slaughter (World Animal Protection, 2016;Sinclair et al., 2017;Sinclair et al., 2019b). In China, where pre-slaughter stunning is not mandated and often not conducted, livestock stakeholders identified pre-slaughter stunning as the one most important livestock animal welfare issue to be addressed during slaughter and transport (Li et al., 2018), and in another study in Bangladesh, China, India, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, livestock leaders were mostly willing to embrace preslaughter stunning in a variety of pre-determined conditions (Sinclair et al., 2019a). During this latter study, livestock stakeholders in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim nation, made the point that members of the public were largely unaware of farming processes, including slaughter (Sinclair et al., 2019a). ...
Most people around the world eat meat and billions of animals are slaughtered each year to meet that demand. For many, eating meat is a biocultural activity steeped in tradition and formative in cuisines and identity. Eating meat, however, comes with a myriad of ethical and practical considerations. In tandem with animal rights and environmental sustainability concerns surrounding the impact of animal slaughter for meat, animal welfare science has identified numerous ways animals may suffer on an individual level during various methods of slaughter. Practices of slaughter differ around the world and the degree to which culture and regional interpretations of religion impact consumer expectations and perceptions of suffering at slaughter are relatively unknown. We begin to address some of these gaps by conducting a survey of 4,291 members of the general public to assess knowledge and attitudes around animal welfare at slaughter and religious slaughter, across 14 culturally and religiously diverse countries in local languages; Australia, Philippines, Nigeria, United Kingdom and United States (English), Bangladesh (Bengali), Brazil (Portuguese), Chile (Spanish), China (Traditional Chinese), India (Hindi and English), Malaysia (Bahasa Malay, Chinese and English), Pakistan (Urdu), Sudan (Arabic) and Thailand (Thai). Our results demonstrate that in highly developed countries where exposure to slaughter is low, comfort witnessing slaughter and knowledge about animal welfare at slaughter and the local application of stunning is also low. Cultural and religious differences exist by country, however in all countries except Bangladesh, the majority of participants stated that it mattered to them that animals do not suffer during slaughter, and in most countries, participants would prefer that animals be rendered unconscious before they are slaughtered (preslaughter stunning); including in countries where this practice is not currently widespread. These findings suggest that concern for the reduction of animal suffering during slaughter is a universal human tendency, rather than a cultural development, while opinion of how best to achieve this (i.e., to stun or not to stun) may be cultural and tied to local interpretations of religious slaughter requirements. The findings of this study serve as an indication for meat industries and governments that continual review and improvement of animal welfare processes at slaughter are required to continue to meet evolving general public sentiment.
... There is however a growing awareness among the Chinese scientific community and in the population in general, due to the influence of Western culture and the awareness of the relationship between FAW and meat quality [33,34]. Despite this growing awareness, FAW issues are still enormous, including a lack of legislation and poor slaughter procedures [30,35]. When considering the countries in the present study, China has the overall lowest animal protection index. ...
In this study, we examined how beliefs about farm animal sentience and their suffering vary across culture and demographic characteristics. A total of N = 5027) questionnaires were administered in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the USA. Brazilians showed higher and Chinese lower levels of perceived animal sentience. In Russia and India, the perception of suffering and sentience increases with age, with similar levels to those observed in the USA. In all the countries, more people agreed than disagreed that animals are sentient. Men in India show higher levels of agreement with the relation between eating meat and animal suffering, followed by women in Brazil and China. Lower levels of agreement are observed in Americans and Chinese. Women show higher levels of compassion than men. In Russia, there is a slightly higher level of agreement between men and in the USA younger men agree more. Young American men show higher levels of agreement, while in India and China age has the opposite effect. For fair trading competition, it is important to standardize procedures and respect the demand for both animal protein and its ethical production. Overall, our results showed that perceptions of farm animal sentience and suffering vary substantially across countries and demographic groups. These differences could have important consequences for the perceived ethicality of meat production and consumption, and for global trade in animal products.
... Consumers generally have a positive view of environmental and social responsibility food labelling schemes. Combination labelling has potential, with a mix of sustainable diet attributes appearing wellreceived [24]. This study investigated stakeholders' perceptions of animal welfare issues in the Chinese transport and slaughter industry using utility scores and adaptive conjoint analysis. ...
The basis of this article is the study of such a form of farming in rural areas as personal subsidiary farms (PSF). The importance of private farming is actualized both in matters of a social nature in rural areas and issues of sustainable development of entire sectors of the economy. The article clarifies the main socio-economic functions of individual subsidiary farms. The basics of motivation and goal setting for entrepreneurship are considered. And in this regard, a model is given for increasing the business activity of personal subsidiary farms based on small-scale poultry meat production. The model is described both from the point of view of the mechanisms of interaction of participants and from the organisation's point of view. The financial mechanisms of this model and its features are also given. Many economists consider PSF the most massive, and economically stable; one might even say the surviving producer of agricultural products sustainably. This phenomenon lies in the economic nature of PSF. In these conditions, personal subsidiary farms are additional for those who are engaged in hired work. For the majority, this is about 3 million people who are considered "self-employed", the only source of income. Of particular interest is the financial model of this project, which was developed by the project's authors and tested for three years. This model allows you to reduce the price of finished products and keep it 15% below the market. The project showed that personal subsidiary farms without special conditions could not transform massively into individual entrepreneurs or peasant farms. To do this, the state needs to organize prototypes of such operators on the ground, which will begin to perform all intermediary functions to improve the business environment of each rural locality.
... Chinese participants reported the lowest level of understanding of 'animal welfare' (30.1%), similar to a study that found 33.23% of Chinese consumers understood the term (Xu et al., 2019). The term 'animal welfare' as it is understood today was introduced into China in the 1990s (BaoLi, 2016), and it is hypothesized that early translations of the term into Chinese caused misunderstanding (Shi, 2020), and that some level of confusion remains today (Li et al., 2018;Sinclair and Phillips, 2018). ...
Our perceptions shape our intentions, our motivations, our behavior, and in doing so, our reality. In this age of the Anthropocene, our perceptions also impact the lives and welfare of other animals. One of the key principles associated with the success of international animal welfare initiatives is an understanding of local audiences and contexts. Additionally, culture by country has been demonstrated to be a significant determinant of attitudes to animals and their welfare. Within this study, we surveyed 4,291 members of the general public on their perceptions of animals and animal welfare across 14 geographically and culturally diverse countries; particularly those that are engaged with subsistence farming. Important differences exist by country, and the findings have been presented within the context of each country, for ease of incorporation into localized strategy where suitable.
... Genetic selection achieves improved breeding, disease control, and nutrition handling practices [47]. The transport of broiler chickens is considered a critical point in the chicken meat production chain [48], which is explained concerning the possible consequences for the welfare of broiler chickens [49]. ...
The study aimed to point out the calls of the European Commission to the social responsibility of the solution of food losses and waste, to evaluate the current state of the researched issues in the Slovak Republic, to point out the trends, and propose measures to improve the situation of the food losses and waste on the poultry meat market in the Slovak Republic. The scientific hypotheses were established. A questionnaire survey was used to obtain primary data. The research object was households and agricultural enterprises of broiler chicken farming (poultry farms) in the Slovak Republic. Data from questionnaires completed by households and poultry farms were examined and processed by the sorting method. Cumulative totals, intervals, and percentage ranges were calculated in each response class. The obtained data for individual objects of research were processed by sorting using Microsoft Word tables – Excel, Office 2016. The chi-square test (χ2 test) with a contingency table according to the procedure of Social Science Statistics was chosen for hypothesis testing. The SAS program was used for statistical evaluation of the results and answers of the respondents from the questionnaires. The research shows that food losses in Slovak households were up to 40% and on poultry farms at 6.8%. Mould and rot were the most common causes of food degradation. Mortality during breed has been recorded as a cause of food waste in poultry farms. A statistically significant difference (p ≤0.001) was found in the quantity of food losses between gross household income per family member and month. Statistically, no significant difference (p ˃0.05) was found between the numbers of family members. The proposals were recommended to improve the solution of reducing food losses and food waste in households and poultry farms. Based on the application of a practical approach of households and poultry farms to reduce food losses and support innovative solutions, it is possible to achieve gentle practices in ensuring the security of nutrition, food production, social and economic sustainability as well as environmental protection in the Slovak Republic.
Simple Summary
Farm animal welfare research conducted in China is relatively less accessed and unknown outside of the country, which might create the impression that farm animal welfare receives limited attention in China. This paper aims to offer a comprehensive review of the existing Chinese farm animal welfare literature. CiteSpace software was employed for the analysis and visualization of various aspects of the literature, including the quantity, species, authors, institutions, journals, and keywords. This process helped reveal the research trends, hotspots, and frontiers in the field. The findings from this bibliometric analysis strongly indicate that farm animal welfare is a subject of considerable interest and research activity in China.
Abstract
Farm animal welfare research conducted in China is not commonly accessed or known outside of China, which may lead to the assumption that farm animal welfare receives relatively little attention in China. Therefore, a bibliometric analysis was conducted on the existing Chinese farm animal welfare literature to provide robust evidence to refute this assumption. A total of 1312 peer-reviewed Chinese studies on farm animal welfare published between March 1992 and June 2023 were retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. CiteSpace software was used to analyze and visualize the number, species, authors, institutions, journals, and keywords of the papers. In China, farm animal welfare research has gone through the processes of an early stage (1992–2001), rapid-growth stage (2002–2007), and mature stage (2008–present), and the scale of research continues to grow. Notably, swine and chickens have received priority attention in this area. A Matthew effect was observed for authors and institutions, with relatively little collaboration among authors and institutions. Most of the papers were published in a small number of journals, with an apparent agglomeration characteristic. The research hotspots, summarized as “feed and diet”, “environmental impacts and control”, “integrated rearing management”, “injury and disease”, “behavior and technologies for behavior monitoring”, “genetic analysis”, “welfare during transport and slaughter”, “welfare-friendly animal product consumption”, “attitudes toward farm animal welfare”, and “healthy breeding”. The keywords “computer vision”, “recognition”, “temperature”, “precision livestock farming”, “laying hen”, and “behavior”, represent the major research frontiers in the field, which could indicate potential areas of significant future research. The findings of the present bibliometric analysis confirm the fact that farm animal welfare is a field of interest in China. Farm animal welfare research in China tends to be pragmatic, with a strong emphasis on enhancing growth and production performance, as well as product quality, rather than solely concentrating on improving farm animal welfare. This paper provides insightful references that researchers can use to identify and understand the current status and future direction of the farm animal welfare field in China.
This chick and chicken transportation cage technology was designed, produced and pretested as a creative innovation on its structure and convenience for traditional poultry producers who exist on rural areas of the country where there is no access to get plastic chick/chicken transportation cage. The data on this particular work was row materials, measurements of the cage parts, construction challenges, and opportunities on the hand of local carpenters/wood workers. In my opinion there will be many works in near future on modification of cage design, size, component number, row material and comparative evaluation based on suggested areas and with other cage technologies. At day old age which is very risky age for management, 94% of the chicks survived from AMARC cage and 98.7% from Plastic/Purchased type during phase 1 study. During phase 2 study, 99.7% of the chicks survived from AMARC cage and 100% from Plastic/Purchased type. Causes for the death of the chicks were management problem. For Matured chickens transportation, the current study clearly showed that using both cages resulted about 100% of the transported chickens survived.
A person’s gender and age can influence their attitudes towards animal welfare, with more benign attitudes generally ascribed to women. Given that attitudes influence consumer behaviour and the rapid recent social development in China (globally the biggest livestock producer), we surveyed over 1300 individuals across China to elucidate the role of gender and age in determining attitudes towards animals. Respondents self-identified their gender as male, female, other or not revealed. There were interactions between age and gender for many of the survey items, demonstrating that the effects of gender were dependent on the respondents’ age. Women aged 18–24 reported more benign attitudes towards animals than older men (aged between 25 and 54 years, depending on the survey question) and more empathetic responses were found in young respondents generally, although this did not necessarily translate into a willingness to pay more for higher-welfare animal products. We propose, drawing on Social Identity Theory, that women see animals as part of their social group, whereas men tend not to do this. Those responding as neither male nor female, i.e., as another gender, and those not revealing their gender appeared to have different relationships to animals than those responding as men or women. It is concluded that within Chinese culture, attitudes towards animals and their welfare are complex and influenced by an interaction between gender and age
El presente marco de referencia del módulo Salud y Bienestar Animal del examen Saber Pro fue elaborado por el profesor Juan Guillermo Maldonado Estrada. Su construcción se
llevó a cabo con base en una versión de 2016. Esta última revisión se ajusta a los lineamientos para la elaboración y revisión de marcos de referencia y busca actualizar la información correspondiente a las tendencias nacionales e internacionales en el área. Este marco fue validado por las profesoras Mayra Díaz Vargas y Claudia Jiménez Escobar, quienes, desde miradas externas, brindaron una mayor confiabilidad y calidad académica al documento.
En este marco de referencia, el Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluación de la Educación (Icfes) presenta los objetivos de evaluación, la estructura y el contenido del módulo Salud y Bienestar Animal, que pertenece al Examen de Estado para la Evaluación de la Educación Superior, Saber Pro. El objetivo de este documento es responder a las preguntas: ¿qué competencias se evalúan en este módulo? y ¿cómo se evalúan?
En todo proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje la evaluación de la formación conceptual y la adquisición de habilidades y destrezas de un aprendiz debe estar encaminada a verificar si con la educación recibida se adquirieron los conocimientos y destrezas requeridos para asumir su desempeño profesional.
El módulo Salud y Bienestar Animal está diseñado para evaluar cuatro competencias que desarrollan los estudiantes en los programas de Medicina, Veterinaria y afines. Así mismo, estas competencias valoran el abordaje holístico de la salud animal con base en el cuidado de la salud individual y de las poblaciones, en beneficio de su bienestar y de los sistemas productivos. A su vez, se incluyen conocimientos sobre el cuidado de la salud pública a través del control y prevención de zoonosis y el control de la calidad de alimentos y derivadosde origen animal.
Los programas académicos para los cuales se ofrece el módulo de Salud y Bienestar Animal son Medicina Veterinaria y Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia. El público que puede
presentar la prueba son los estudiantes de ambos programas que hayan cursado el 75 % del programa académico (Artículo 4°, Decreto 3963 de 2009). Para dar cuenta de los
objetivos planteados, este marco de referencia está dividido en dos apartados: antecedentes y diseño del módulo. En el primero se abordan las normativas que atañen a la evaluación, un contexto nacional e internacional, la historia y la fundamentación conceptual del módulo. En la segunda parte se presentan las especificaciones y las características del módulo.
Abstract
The Hawaiian Archipelago is a remote, unique and fragile island system. There are at least 100 introduced terrestrial vertebrates with established wild populations in the Hawaiian Islands. The presence and impacts of introduced wildlife has caused several cases of human-wildlife conflict in the islands. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to understand the human dimensions of introduced terrestrial vertebrates in the Hawaiian Islands and to identify methods of managing these animals that optimize the priorities and values of the public, and the costs and benefits associated with managing wildlife. The three objectives of this research were to: identify stakeholders‟ future desired abundance for several species of introduced wildlife; identify the attitudes and beliefs that are influencing stakeholders‟ desired abundance for wildlife; and design models that may be used to identify optimal techniques for managing introduced wildlife. In 2011, I disseminated a state-wide survey to 5,407 residents of Hawai„i. Approximately, 20% of the general public, identified through a randomized mailing list, and 46% of pre-identified stakeholders responded to the survey. Results of a non-response telephone survey indicated that survey respondents did not differ significantly from non-respondents in terms of interest in wildlife, age, or education. Survey results for feral cats were unanticipated in that they revealed that the vast majority (~85%) of respondent‟s would like the abundance of feral cats to be reduced. These results are supplemented with research into two decision theory models (consensus convergence models and the analytical hierarchy process) that may be used to identify optimal management technique/s for reducing the abundance of feral cats. I also found that the desired abundance for game species (wild pigs, goats, mouflon, axis deer, wild turkeys, and zebra doves) varied among the six main Hawaiian Islands (Kaua„i, O„ahu, Moloka„i, Maui, Lana„i, and Hawai„i) as did the explanatory variables for that desire. The results of this dissertation have considerable implications for the future management of introduced terrestrial vertebrates in the Hawaiian Islands and will aid the development of comprehensive management plans that are more acceptable to the people of Hawai„i.
Unwanted cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are generally categorized as either "owned" or "stray." This classification is misleading because "stray" cats may include many "semiowned" cats, for which people provide care but who are not perceived as being owned. This differentiation is important because effective strategies designed to reduce cat admissions to, and euthanasia rates in, shelters rely on accurate information about cat populations contributing to shelter intake; cat semiowners will likely respond to different strategies than people with no relationship with the cats they surrender. People surrendering cats to four Australian animal shelters were surveyed to identify factors associated with perception of ownership. Many self-classified nonowners had fed the cats they surrendered, often for a considerable period of time. The factor most strongly associated with ownership perception was an increasing association time with the cat. These findings confirm that enduring relationships between surrenderers and cats, consistent with cat semiownership, are common for cats surrendered to Australian animal shelters. This finding should be taken into account when planning education messages and cat population management strategies aimed at reducing cat admissions.
Farming in China is at a crossroad. Indeed, statistically speaking, the rural population is declining, the average age of farmers is rising, and fewer young people are choosing farming as a vocation. Furthermore, it is projected that the number of farmers in China will continue to decline. As a result, if there are no effective policies put into place to attract the younger generation into farming, China's ability to produce enough food for its people and sustain agriculture development as a whole, along with the overall development of China, will be severely threatened.
Consumers in China have grown increasingly concerned with the safety of their food as evidenced by the numerous media reports of foodborne illness outbreaks in recent years. Consumer confidence in food purchases can be improved through better labeling on food packaging. Chinese consumers’ risk perceptions and how it impacts the valuation of a product’s attributes in terms of price premiums are explored in this study. As pork is a staple meat in China, a choice modeling approach was used to quantify the economic value of labeling on pork for food safety, country of origin, environment practices, and animal welfare. Risk perceptions of becoming ill from imported or domestic pork were incorporated and willingness to pay (WTP) values were quantified. Results reveal that food safety has the greatest premium among all of the attributes, and incorporating risk perceptions leads to generally higher WTP values. We find evidence that Chinese urban consumers in large cities show a genuine preference for animal welfare and environmental stewardship, independent of the believed better taste and safety of meat from such production practices. Results imply that consumers not only gain the greatest utility from this labeling but also suggest that there is a latent demand for this product characteristic from which foreign and domestic pork producers can benefit.
The relationship between public attitudes toward animals and human demographics has been well documented during the last few decades, but the influence of human ethical ideologies on public attitudes toward animals and animal welfare has been rarely investigated, especially in developing countries, such as China. The present study introduced two scales (Animal Issue Scale [AIS] and Animal Attitude Scale [AAS]) to investigate the Chinese people's attitudes toward animals and the manner in which their outlook related to ethical ideologies (idealism and relativism), which classified people into four ethical positions: situationists, subjectivists, absolutists and exceptionists. Moreover, it also showed how ethical ideologies and their interaction with human demographics influence respondents' attitudes toward animals. The results of an online questionnaire (n = 504) distributed throughout China suggest that compared with middle-Aged and old respondents, the young demonstrated significantly more positive attitudes toward animals. Absolutists showed the most positive attitudes toward animals, while subjectivists showed the least. People's attitudes toward animals were positively affected by idealism, which confirms previous findings in developed countries. However, people's attitudes toward animals were negatively affected by relativism, which is inconsistent with findings in developed countries, showing that ethical relativism failed to influence attitudes toward animals. Our results indicate that the same mechanisms underlying the effect of ethical idealism on attitudes toward animals might work in different countries to increase awareness on animal welfare. However, the manner in which ethical relativism influences attitudes toward animals may differ between developed and developing countries.
Peter J. Li, Ph.D., (PL) an Associate Professor of East Asian Politics at the University of Houston-Downtown and China Policy Specialist of Humane Society International first came to the U.S. from China to study at Syracuse University in 1987. Almost immediately, he had several “cultural shocks,” as he puts it. I asked him about two epiphanies, in particular, which—to my way of thinking—are truly emblematic of one man’s remarkable journey.
Attitudes to animals have been extensively studied for people in developed countries, but not for those in developing countries. The attitudes of prospective stakeholders in the livestock sectors in south-east and east Asia toward transport and slaughter were examined by surveying university students studying veterinary medicine and animal science in Malaysia, Thailand, China and Vietnam, with a total of 739 students taking part. Students had greater acceptability of transport than slaughter issues for livestock, and female students found most transport and slaughter issues of greater concern than male students. Veterinary students were more accepting of several issues than animal science students, in particular killing animals that were injured or ill. Religion had a major effect on attitudes. Muslim students found using animals that died naturally for products least acceptable. Compared to them, Hindu students were less accepting of killing injured or ill animals and Buddhist students less accepting of euthanasing healthy pets. Students with more experience of pets were less accepting of both transport and slaughter issues. It is concluded that concern was exhibited by future stakeholders in the SE and E Asian livestock industries for slaughter and, to a lesser extent, transport issues, although attitudes were influenced by their religion, gender and experience of pet-keeping.
Long-distance transport can cause both physical and mental problems in animals and promoting animal welfare will be beneficial to both the animals and the agricultural and processing industries. In conjunction with the World Society for the Protection of Animals, this volume brings together studies from well-known animal scientists and researchers to reviews the implications and necessity of long-distance animal transport for slaughter. Authoritative reports on regional practices are combines with discussions of the science, economics, legislation and procedures involved in this practice.
How do you define the quality of life of a farmed animal? This timely book addresses the complex and often controversial issues surrounding the assessment and improvement of farm animal welfare. Based on a large, multi-disciplinary EU funded research project called Welfare Quality, it discusses the relevance of science based welfare assessments and the importance of establishing a fruitful dialogue between science and society. An outline is given of the development of a workable welfare assessment system for cattle, pigs and chickens as well as practical ways of improving the animals' quality of life. This book synthesises the huge body of work carried out by the largest ever international network of scientists and stakeholders in Welfare Quality. It describes some of the obstacles encountered and their solution and why particular paths were chosen. It also clearly sets out what still needs to be done and presents selected strategies and technologies (automation, proxy indicators, targeting of risk factors, etc.) designed to ensure the continued improvement of welfare and its assessment. The book provides a valuable source of knowledge on farm animal welfare for social and animal scientists, students, teachers, policy makers, lobby groups and the animal industry.