Journal Articles

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/7915

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Author: search.filters.author.Jafari-Gh ASubject: search.filters.subject.animal welfare

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    An Investigation of Dairy Cattle Welfare in Commercial Iranian Farms: Results from Management Practices, Resource-Based Measures, and Farm Records
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-10-16) Jafari-Gh A; Laven R; Khaloubagheri F; Jafari-Gh S; Mirrahimi MH; Dehghan Banadaky M; Mueller KR; Vallee E; De Rosa G
    There is currently no routine systematic assessment of welfare on Iranian dairy farms and no industry-recognised welfare assessment protocols. Therefore, we aimed to design a comprehensive welfare assessment protocol and use it to assess dairy cattle welfare on Iranian dairy farms that could serve as baseline data. Out of the 54 farms on which milking time was measured, 14 had cows spending ≥4 h a day for milking. Additionally, 17/43 farms provided <6 cm of water trough length per cow, and 9/46 farms provided <47 cm of feed trough length per cow, falling short of international guidelines. Hoof trimming was considered a routine procedure with 51/56 farms trimming the hooves ≥2 times a year. The main housing problem in bedded-pack farms was lack of resting areas with 18/29 farms providing less space than the minimum requirement of 5.4 m2/cow, while in free-stall farms bedding depth was the principal housing issue with 16/28 providing ≤10 cm of bedding. Finally, only 31/42 farms that provided farm data kept a record of more than half of the parameters that we asked for. Our findings indicate that a high proportion of farms did not provide sufficient resources or implement management practices necessary to meet welfare requirements of dairy cattle on Iranian farms.
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    An Investigation of Dairy Cattle Welfare in Commercial Iranian Farms: Results from Animal- and Stockperson-Based Measures.
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2025-01-27) Jafari-Gh A; Laven R; Khaloubagheri F; Mirrahimi MH; Jafari-Gh S; Banadaky MD; Mueller KR; Vallee E; Salari F
    Dairy cow welfare can impact both the economic performance of an individual farm and the public perception of the sector, thus influencing the sustainability of the dairy farming industry. Intensive dairy farming in Iran started in the 1940s, but there is limited data available regarding dairy cattle welfare in the country. Therefore, the aim of this study was to design and use a comprehensive bespoke welfare assessment protocol in intensive Iranian dairy farms to provide baseline data for Iran and other countries with similar farming systems. The protocol consists of animal-based, stockperson-based, and resource-based measures. The first part of the welfare assessment protocol (being presented in this paper) was developed from the existing literature and contained 11 animal-based and 2 stockmanship measures. The protocol was applied in 62 intensive dairy cattle farms in five arid and semi-arid provinces of Iran. Welfare Quality sample size suggestions were used to reach the minimum sample size for all animal-based measures except for the locomotion score, where either the whole milking herd was scored or all cows in the early lactation (<150 days in milk) group. Results show that there was a good focus on nutrition management on the farms. Lameness prevalence and the incidence of hock lesions were too high, although within the range seen in many housed cows outside Iran. In addition, 13.5% of cows had damaged ears. The prevalence of dirty legs was high (≥80% of cows), and the hygiene score was unrelated to the farming system. Finally, the extremely high median prevalence of tail damage (60%) indicates a significant welfare issue that needs to be addressed with urgency.
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    Factors Affecting the Perception and Practice of Iranian Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Pastoralists in Regard to Biosecurity Practices in Sheep and Goat Farms: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Study
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-03-01) Hatami Z; Laven RA; Jafari-Gh S; Moazez-Lesko M; Soleimani P; Jafari-Gh A; Eila N; Yadi J; Sinafar M; Leury BJ
    Preventing the spread of diseases between and within farms (biosecurity) is essential for minimizing animal mortality and morbidity, as well as for reducing the risk of spread of zoonotic diseases. These effects are even greater in countries such as Iran, which have to deal with multiple ongoing epidemics of infectious disease. However, there is currently no published information about biosecurity practices on sheep and goat farms in Iran in published research. The aim of this study was to collect such information and to identify some of the factors affecting biosecurity practices. Data were gathered using a checklist and in-depth interviews with 99 nomadic and semi-nomadic pastoralists. Regression analysis was used to identify the relationships between the collected variables and the biosecurity scores. The results showed that neither within- nor between-farm disease prevention measures were appropriately applied on most farms (median total score of total biosecurity was 37.3/90; Q1 = 29.0 and Q3 = 44.7). Almost all the farmers reported slaughtering animals on farms and nobody properly disposed of the bodies of the dead animals. Additionally, the majority of the participants did not disinfect the umbilical cords of newborns. Of the collected variables, the annual mortality rate was associated with most within-farm biosecurity practices. The increase in annual mortality rates was associated with the regular cleaning of troughs (p = 0.03), preventing feed and water from being contaminated by urine and feces (p = 0.02), providing a clean and dry place for animals to rest (p = 0.05) and disinfecting the navel cord (p = 0.03). The results of this survey suggest that there is a clear need for extension programs to enhance Iranian and sheep and goat farmers’ perceptions and practices regarding biosecurity measures.