Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing
Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico where the climate is tropical, both humid and dry. The predominant cattle production system found is dual-purpose, which on every productive cycle produces both milk and meat. Growing concern about animal welfare can be seen among consumers, who expect t...
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
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SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231)
2016
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571444613775360 |
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| author | Eriksson, Sofie |
| author_browse | Eriksson, Sofie |
| author_facet | Eriksson, Sofie |
| author_sort | Eriksson, Sofie |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico where the climate is tropical, both humid and dry. The predominant cattle production system found is dual-purpose, which on every productive cycle produces both milk and meat. Growing concern about animal welfare can be seen among consumers, who expect their food to be produced with respect to the animals and their welfare. Animal welfare assessment on farm is needed to inform animal unit managers about the welfare status on their farm and to identify areas in need of improvement. Strategies for improving animal welfare can thereafter be implemented which is an important step in the work for improving the quality of animal products. In this study we conducted welfare assessments on 34 farms, located in San Pedro Buena Vista, using a modified Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for cattle to suit this kind of small-scale production in the tropics. The protocol from Welfare Quality® is based on the five freedoms from the Farm Animal Welfare Council and is based on the welfare principles Good Feeding, Good Housing, Good Health and Appropriate behaviour. This study focuses on Good feeding and Good housing. The main findings were that absence of prolonged hunger and absence of prolonged thirst were the areas where improvements are necessary for better animal welfare. Housing was good according to the protocol since there is very little infrastructure on these farms and no housing is needed. The animals are kept on extensive pastures most of the time and a better way of assessing this kind of housing would be needed to get a better understanding of the actual welfare. There is also a need to create a method to properly assess thermal comfort since heat stress is more common in the tropics than in thermal climates, where the original WQ® protocol was developed. Further studies should focus on feed management to improve Good Feeding. Providing knowledge to the farmers is important to find alternative management practices that is economically feasible to both increase their productivity and animal welfare. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU9000 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publishDateSort | 2016 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU90002016-06-08T13:29:10Z Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing Djurvälfärd hos nötkreatursbesättningar i kombinerad mjölk- och köttproduktion under tropiskt klimat i Mexiko : med inriktning på inhysning och foder Eriksson, Sofie Dual-purpose Welfare Quality® assessment body condition sustainability small-scale Mexico calf production milk production Chiapas is a state in the southeast of Mexico where the climate is tropical, both humid and dry. The predominant cattle production system found is dual-purpose, which on every productive cycle produces both milk and meat. Growing concern about animal welfare can be seen among consumers, who expect their food to be produced with respect to the animals and their welfare. Animal welfare assessment on farm is needed to inform animal unit managers about the welfare status on their farm and to identify areas in need of improvement. Strategies for improving animal welfare can thereafter be implemented which is an important step in the work for improving the quality of animal products. In this study we conducted welfare assessments on 34 farms, located in San Pedro Buena Vista, using a modified Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for cattle to suit this kind of small-scale production in the tropics. The protocol from Welfare Quality® is based on the five freedoms from the Farm Animal Welfare Council and is based on the welfare principles Good Feeding, Good Housing, Good Health and Appropriate behaviour. This study focuses on Good feeding and Good housing. The main findings were that absence of prolonged hunger and absence of prolonged thirst were the areas where improvements are necessary for better animal welfare. Housing was good according to the protocol since there is very little infrastructure on these farms and no housing is needed. The animals are kept on extensive pastures most of the time and a better way of assessing this kind of housing would be needed to get a better understanding of the actual welfare. There is also a need to create a method to properly assess thermal comfort since heat stress is more common in the tropics than in thermal climates, where the original WQ® protocol was developed. Further studies should focus on feed management to improve Good Feeding. Providing knowledge to the farmers is important to find alternative management practices that is economically feasible to both increase their productivity and animal welfare. Chiapas är en delstat i sydöstra Mexiko med tropiskt klimat. Den dominerande nötdjursproduktionen är kombinerad mjölk- och köttproduktion där varje produktionscykel genererar mjölk dagligen och kött när tjurkalvar avvänjs. Djurvälfärd inom animalieproduktionen är något som fler och fler konsumenter blir medvetna om och de förväntar sig därför att denna produktion tar hänsyn till både djuren och deras välfärd. För att förbättra djurvälfärden är det viktigt att informera djurägare om hur välfärden är på deras gårdar för att hitta orsaker till eventuell försämrad djurvälfärd som sen kan förbättras. Denna studie utförde välfärdsbedömningar på 34 gårdar i San Pedro Buena Vista med hjälp av ett anpassat ”Welfare Quality® Assessment protocol for cattle” för denna typ av produktion. Detta protokoll är baserat på de fem friheterna från ”Farm Animal Welfare Council” och består av välfärdsprinciperna ”Bra utfodring”, ”Bra inhysning”, ”Bra hälsa” och ”Normalt beteende”. Fokus för denna studie är ”Bra utfodring” och ”Bra inhysning”. De viktigaste slutsatserna var att välfärdskriterierna ”Frånvaro av långvarig hunger” och ”Frånvaro av långvarig törst” var de områden där förbättringar behövs för bättre djurvälfärd. Inhysningen var bra enligt protokollet eftersom det är väldigt lite infrastruktur på dessa gårdar, där det till exempel inte finns något behov av byggnader. Djuren inhyses på extensiva beten större delen av dygnet och en bättre metod för att bedöma denna typ av inhysning skulle behövas för att bättre förstå den verkliga djurvälfärden. Det behövs också en metod för att bedöma den termiska komforten eftersom värmestress är vanligare i tropikerna jämfört med det termiska klimat, där originalet av WQ protokollet har utvecklats. Framtida studier bör fokusera på att förbättra utfodringen. Slutligen är det viktigt att tillhandahålla kunskap till djurägarna för att hitta alternativa sätt att förvalta djuren som är ekonomiskt genomförbara och som kan förbättra både djurvälfärd samt produktivitet. SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) 2016 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/9000/ |
| spellingShingle | Dual-purpose Welfare Quality® assessment body condition sustainability small-scale Mexico calf production milk production Eriksson, Sofie Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title | Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title_full | Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title_fullStr | Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title_full_unstemmed | Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title_short | Animal welfare in Mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| title_sort | animal welfare in mexican dual-purpose cattle herds in the tropics : with focus on feeding and housing |
| topic | Dual-purpose Welfare Quality® assessment body condition sustainability small-scale Mexico calf production milk production |