A scientific literature review and consensus of expert opinion used the welfare definitions provided by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) Five Freedoms as the framework for selecting a set of animal-based indicators that were sensitive to the current on-farm welfare issues of young lambs (aged ⩽6 weeks). Ten animal-based indicators assessed by observation – […]
Continue ReadingDisease control measures require poultry to be killed on farms to minimise the risk of disease being transmitted to other poultry and, in some cases, to protect public health. We assessed the welfare implications for poultry of the use of high-expansion gas-filled foam as a potentially humane, emergency killing method. In laboratory trials, broiler chickens, […]
Continue ReadingRecent research has suggested the stomach may also have been the pathway that led to man and dog becoming best friends. A study led by evolutionary geneticist Erik Axelsson from the Department of Medical Biochemistry and Microbiology at Sweden’s Uppsala University, has found evidence of genetic differences between domestic dogs and wolves that could explain […]
Continue ReadingIn low atmospheric pressure stunning (LAPS), poultry are rendered unconscious before slaughter by gradually reducing oxygen tension in the atmosphere to achieve a progressive anoxia. The effects of LAPS are not instantaneous, so there are legitimate welfare concerns around the experience of birds before loss of consciousness. Using self-contained telemetry logging units, high-quality continuous electroencephalogram (EEG) and […]
Continue ReadingObjective -To assess pregnancy and live foaling rates after reduction of twin pregnancy via transvaginal ultrasound-guided aspiration (TUA) in mares and evaluate effects of gestational period, localization of conceptuses, fluid aspiration volume, and combination of TUA with embryonic or fetal puncture on these outcomes. Design – Clinical trial. Animals – 44 mares pregnant with twins […]
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