Prevalence of Potential Indicators of Welfare Status in Young Calves at Meat Processing Premises in New Zealand

Simple item page
dc.citation.issue8
dc.citation.volume11
dc.contributor.authorPalmer AL
dc.contributor.authorBeausoleil NJ
dc.contributor.authorBoulton AC
dc.contributor.authorCogger N
dc.contributor.editorGibson TJ
dc.contributor.editorFaucitano L
dc.coverage.spatialSwitzerland
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-15T22:29:18Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-07-25T06:42:49Z
dc.date.available2021-08-23
dc.date.available2024-01-15T22:29:18Z
dc.date.available2024-07-25T06:42:49Z
dc.date.issued2021-08-23
dc.description.abstractIn New Zealand, over two million dairy calves between four and seven days of age are sent to meat processing premises every year. There is a need to develop protocols for holistically assessing the welfare of calves sent to slaughter in the first week of life. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of potential animal-based indicators of the welfare state in bobby calves in lairage. The study observed calves in lairage between June and October 2016. Data collection involved assessing groups of calves in pens followed by non-invasive measurements on up to five calves within each pen. We made 23 visits to 12 meat processing premises with group-level observations made on 5910 calves in 102 pens, followed by a non-invasive examination of 504 calves. During the group level observations, none of the calves had their heads tilted or were panting, and coughing and play behaviour were observed in only 1% of pens. In contrast, at least one calf had faecal soiling in all the observed pens, with the percentage of calves affected in each pen ranging from 1% to 48%. In the individual observations, more than 60% of calves had signs of some degree of dehydration, and nearly 40% had some faecal soiling present. In addition, 24% of calves had a respiratory rate over 36 breaths per minute, considered higher than normal. The change in prevalence of some indicators-as time spent in lairage increased or as the calving season progressed-is worth further exploration. Identification of prevalent animal-based indicators facilitates better understanding of the welfare status of young calves in lairage, and these should be incorporated into more holistic calf welfare assessment schemes.
dc.description.confidentialfalse
dc.edition.editionAugust 2021
dc.format.pagination2467-
dc.identifier.author-urlhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34438924
dc.identifier.citationPalmer AL, Beausoleil NJ, Boulton AC, Cogger N. (2021). Prevalence of Potential Indicators of Welfare Status in Young Calves at Meat Processing Premises in New Zealand.. Animals (Basel). 11. 8. (pp. 2467-).
dc.identifier.doi10.3390/ani11082467
dc.identifier.eissn2076-2615
dc.identifier.elements-typejournal-article
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615
dc.identifier.numberARTN 2467
dc.identifier.piiani11082467
dc.identifier.urihttps://mro.massey.ac.nz/handle/10179/70730
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherMDPI (Basel, Switzerland)
dc.publisher.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/8/2467
dc.relation.isPartOfAnimals (Basel)
dc.rights(c) 2021 The Author/s
dc.rightsCC BY 4.0
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subjectbobby calf
dc.subjectlairage
dc.subjectslaughter
dc.subjectwelfare indicators
dc.titlePrevalence of Potential Indicators of Welfare Status in Young Calves at Meat Processing Premises in New Zealand
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.elements-id448346
pubs.organisational-groupOther
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