Animal Welfare In Extensive Production Systems

"FAWEC - Farm Animal Welfare Education Centre"--Page 4 of cover.

There has been a lot written about animal welfare in intensive farming systems, but very little about animals reared in extensive agricultural systems. Yet these animals make up a significant proportion of the world’s farm animal population, covering a large portion of the globe. Animals kept in extensive conditions face a unique set of challenges that are vital for anyone with an interest in farm animal welfare to understand. Animal Welfare in Extensive Production Systems presents those challenges in a practical way, backed up with thoroughly referenced research. Topics covered include heat stress, water quality and availability, nutrition, predation, poisonous plants, transport, human-animal interactions, and neonatal mortality. This book is ideal for animal welfare academics, students and researchers. It can also be beneficial to students in animal science, veterinary science and agriculture and to farm industry producers and personnel. The Animal Welfare Series covers current topics in animal welfare, to further research and inform the scientific, policy-making and farming communities. 5m Books

This essay explores key features of the intensification of animal production in relation to animal welfare and animal ethics. It looks at some traditional ethical ideas about animal care in order to help explain why the intensification of animal production has become such a prominent social and ethical issue. It suggests that some of the standard claims made by critics of intensive animal production are seriously flawed, and proposes an alternative interpretation to account for some of the key developments in the intensification of animal production. Finally, it explores how this interpretation, if correct, leads us to a different set of actions to address animal welfare concerns in intensive production systems.

This book covers all aspects of research into the welfare of dairy, veal and beef cattle, covering behavior, nutrition and feeding, housing and management, stockmanship, and stress physiology, as well as transport and slaughter. It also offers a detailed and critical analysis of the main indicators of animal welfare and covers the main threats to animal welfare in modern cattle production systems.

What constitutes animal welfare? With animals being used for companionship, service, research, food, fiber, and by-products, animal welfare is a topic of great interest and importance to society. As the world’s population continues to increase, a major challenge for society is the maintenance of a strong and viable food system, which is linked to the well-being and comfort of food animals. Animal Welfare in Animal Agriculture: Husbandry, Stewardship, and Sustainability in Animal Production explores the pressing issue of farm animal welfare in animal production systems in the United States and globally. A framework for open discussion on animal welfare, this multidisciplinary book brings together the perspectives of 40 highly qualified and recognized experts in their respective fields. Fourteen chapters address a range of topics that includes ethics, sociology, food safety, ecology, feed resources, biotechnology, government regulations, and sustainability, as well as animal comfort, health, and contributions to society. The book also offers a historical perspective on the growth of animal agriculture from family farms to industrial animal agriculture—and the impact this has had on society. Illustrating the diversity of viewpoints, the concept of animal welfare is defined from the perspectives of an ethicist and philosopher, a research scientist, a veterinarian, an industrialist, and an activist, as well as from the perspective of sustainability and product quality. Written primarily for students, but also highly relevant for professionals in varying fields of academia and industry, this timely book reveals important insights into animal welfare and animal agriculture. Unique in its depth, breadth, and balance, it underscores the need for dialogue on wide-ranging and often contentious issues related to animal production systems.

Management and Welfare of Farm Animals provides comprehensive and up-to-date information on the humane management of all major farmed species in both large-scale food production and alternative farming systems. Designed for agricultural and veterinary science students, this classic textbook covers the management and welfare of species including dairy and beef cattle, veal calves, sheep, pigs, chickens, turkeys, goats, horses, and farmed fish. The sixth edition incorporates recent developments throughout, including an entirely new chapter on international developments in animal welfare law, politics, and practice. Updated chapters discuss topics such as 'high welfare' livestock systems, the impact of automation and new technologies on production and welfare, the ecological impact and sustainability issues of large-scale production systems, and more. Provides a basic understanding of the principles and practices of professional and humane farm animal management Covers animal husbandry, behavior as an indicator of animal welfare, and the assessment, monitoring, and promotion of improved welfare at the farm level Offers updated information on free-range poultry, robot milking, automated disease scanning, and pastoral systems in the developing world Includes less-common farm species such as South American camelids, ostriches, and game birds Management and Welfare of Farm Animals, Sixth Edition remains the ideal textbook for students in professional, technical, or vocational education courses on the management and welfare of farm animals.

Animal welfare is attracting increasing interest worldwide, but particularly from those in developed countries, who now have the knowledge and resources to be able to improve the welfare of farm animals. The increased attention given to farm animal welfare in the West derives largely from the fact that the relentless pursuit of ?nancial reward and ef?ciency has led to the development of intensive animal production systems that disturb the conscience of many consumers. In developing countries, human survival is still a daily uncertainty, so that provision for animal welfare has to be balanced against human welfare. Welfare is usually provided for only if it supports the output of the animal, be it food, work, clothing, sport or companionship. In reality there are resources for all if they are properly husbanded in both developing and developed countries. The inequitable division of the world’s riches creates physical and psychological poverty for humans and animals alike in many sectors of the world. Livestock are the world’s biggest land user (FAO, 2002) and the population is increasing rapidly to meet the need of an expanding human population. Populations of farm animals managed by humans are therefore incre- ing worldwide, and in some regions there is a tendency to allocate fewer resources, such as labour, to each animal with potentially adverse consequences on the a- mals’ welfare.