Exploration as an indicator of good welfare in beef bulls: An attempt to develop a test for on-farm assessment

Exploration appears to be carried out for its own purpose due to being self-rewarding. Furthermore, it increases environmental certainty with the effect of increased predictability and control of the environment. We, therefore, supposed that exploratory behaviour is associated with positive emotions and could be a valuable tool in the assessment of animal welfare from the positive side. Since assessing the level of exploration in daily life is time consuming, the goal of our study was to develop a feasible on-farm test to estimate the daily exploratory level of beef bulls. This was based on the hypothesis that bulls in barren environments (here: pens with fully slatted floors) will explore an unknown object more than those housed under more enriched conditions (here: littered pens). A novel object test at the feed rack over a 1-h period was carried out in 64 groups of fattening bulls on farms in Germany and Austria. In order to evaluate sensitivity of the test half of the barren pens in Germany were slightly enriched after these tests and bulls tested again after 1 week. During the first three quarters of the test hour, significantly more barren-housed bulls were occupied with the objects than animals in littered pens. This was predominantly due to more licking/chewing of the novel object. However, the differences in exploration levels were only slight. Moreover, the test was not sensitive to the slight short-term change in stimulation of the bulls following the simple enrichment. The motivational basis for increased exploration of the novel object by licking or chewing in bulls kept in barren conditions is not clear-cut. While it might reflect that these bulls gain less positive emotions from intrinsic exploration in their daily life, nutritional aspects may also play a role. While further investigations should aim to identify the motivational basis of occupation with the novel object and relate true daily exploration levels to test results, for the on-farm assessment of good animal welfare the test appears not to be promising in its current form.     

Assessing animal welfare in sow herds using data on meat inspection,medication and mortality

This paper aims to contribute to the development of a cost-effective alternative to expensive on-farm animal-based welfare assessment systems. The objective of the study was to design an animal welfare index based on central database information (DBWI), and to validate it against an animal welfare index based on-farm animal-based measurements (AWI). Data on 63 Danish sow herds with herd-sizes of 80 to 2500 sows and an average herd size of 501 were collected from three central databases containing: Meat inspection data collected at animal level in the abattoir, mortality data at herd level from the rendering plants of DAKA, and medicine records at both herd and animal group level (sow with piglets, weaners or finishers) from the central database Vetstat. Selected measurements taken from these central databases were used to construct the DBWI. The relative welfare impacts of both individual database measurements and the databases overall were assigned in consultation with a panel consisting of 12 experts. The experts were drawn from production advisory activities, animal science and in one case an animal welfare organization. The expert panel weighted each measurement on a scale from 1 (not-important) to 5 (very important). The experts also gave opinions on the relative weightings of measurements for each of the three databases by stating a relative weight of each database in the DBWI. On the basis of this, the aggregated DBWI was normalized. The aggregation of AWI was based on weighted summary of herd prevalence’s of 20 clinical and behavioural measurements originating from a 1 day data collection. AWI did not show linear dependency of DBWI. This suggests that DBWI is not suited to replace an animal welfare index using on-farm animal-based measurements.     

Register-based predictors of violations of animal welfare legislation in dairy herds

The assessment of animal welfare can include resource-based or animal-based measures. Official animal welfare inspections in Denmark primarily control compliance with animal welfare legislation based on resource measures (e.g. housing system) and usually do not regard animal response parameters (e.g. clinical and behavioural observations). Herds selected for welfare inspections are sampled by a risk-based strategy based on existing register data. The aim of the present study was to evaluate register data variables as predictors of dairy herds with violations of the animal welfare legislation (VoAWL) defined as occurrence of at least one of the two most frequently violated measures found at recent inspections in Denmark, namely (a) presence of injured animals not separated from the rest of the group and/or (b) animals in a condition warranting euthanasia still being present in the herd. A total of 25 variables were extracted from the Danish Cattle Database and assessed as predictors using a multivariable logistic analysis of a data set including 73 Danish dairy herds, which all had more than 100 cows and cubicle loose-housing systems. Univariable screening was used to identify variables associated with VoAWL at a P-value<0.2 for the inclusion in a multivariable logistic regression analysis. Backward selection procedures identified the following variables for the final model predictive of VoAWL: increasing standard deviation of milk yield for first lactation cows, high bulk tank somatic cell count (⩾250 000 cells/ml) and suspiciously low number of recorded veterinary treatments (⩽25 treatments/100 cow years). The identified predictors may be explained by underlying management factors leading to impaired animal welfare in the herd, such as poor hygiene, feeding and management of dry or calving cows and sick animals. However, further investigations are required for causal inferences to be established.     

Effect of grazing on the cow welfare of dairy herds evaluated by a multidimensional welfare index

Structural development in the prime sector has led to increasing herd sizes and new barn systems, followed by less summer grazing for dairy cows in Denmark. Effects of grazing on single welfare measures in dairy cows – for example, the presence of integument alterations or mortality – have been studied under different conditions. However, the effect of grazing on welfare, conceptualised as the multidimensional physical and mental state of the animal, has not yet been studied in contemporary cubicle loose-housing systems. The aim of our study was to investigate, based on a Welfare Quality® inspired multidimensional dairy cow welfare assessment protocol, the within-herd effect of summer grazing compared with winter barn housing in Danish dairy herds with cubicle free-stall systems for the lactating cows. Our hypothesis was that cow welfare in dairy herds was better during summer grazing than during full-time winter housing. Furthermore, we expected improved welfare with an increase in daily summer grazing hours. In total, 41 herds have been visited once in the winter and once in the summer of 2010 to assess their welfare status with 17 different animal- and resource-based welfare measures. A panel of 20 experts on cattle welfare and husbandry evaluated the relative weight of the 17 welfare measures in a multidimensional assessment scheme. They estimated exact weights for a priori constituted severe compared with moderate scores of welfare impairment concerning each measure, as well as relevance of the measures in relation to each other. A welfare index (WI; possible range 0 to 5400) was calculated for each herd and season with a higher index indicating poorer welfare. The within-herd comparison of summer grazing v. winter housing considered all the 17 measures. The mean WI in summer was significantly lower (better) than in winter (mean 2926 v. 3330; paired t-test P = 0.0001) based on a better state of the integument, claw conformation and better access to water and food. Body condition and faeces consistence were worse in summer. Many daily grazing hours (range average above 3 to 9 h) turned out to be more beneficial than few daily grazing hours (range average above 9 to 21 h) for the welfare of the dairy herds. In conclusion, this study reports a positive within-herd effect of summer grazing on dairy cow welfare, where many daily grazing hours were more beneficial than few daily grazing hours.     

Inter- and intra-observer reliability of animal welfare indicators for the on-farm self-assessment of fattening pigs

In Germany all keepers of livestock are legally required to record animal welfare indicators as part of their on-farm self-assessment. The Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture (Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der Landwirtschaft e.V. (KTBL)) has suggested the use of a particular set of animal welfare indicators in their publication Animal welfare indicators: Practical guide – Pigs. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the inter-observer reliability (Inter-OR) and intra-observer reliability (Intra-OR) of these indicators with respect to the welfare of fattening pigs. For the assessment of Inter-OR, three observers evaluated six KTBL animal welfare indicators. The Inter-OR of the indicators was calculated from the results using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). ‘Excellent’ Inter-OR results were found for the indicators tail length (ICC 0.89), skin lesions (ICC 0.77) and ear lesions (ICC 0.80). In contrast, the Inter-OR of the indicators tail lesions (ICC 0.46) and faecal soiling (ICC 0.47) were considered to be only ‘fair’ and that of the indicator lameness (ICC 0.36) as ‘poor’. For the evaluation of the Intra-OR, the same three observers assessed the welfare of 162 to 200 fattening pigs using the same welfare indicators in total eight times. Again ICCs, here per indicator and observer, were used to calculate the Intra-OR. The Intra-OR of the indicators faecal soiling (ICC 0.81) and ear lesions (ICC 0.97) lay in the ‘excellent’ range on average. While the Intra-OR of the indicators skin lesions (ICC 0.67), tail length (ICC 0.74) and lameness (ICC 0.60) could still be considered as being ‘good’, the Intra-OR of the indicator tail lesions (ICC 0.52) could only be assessed as being ‘fair’. From these results the significance of the KTBL indicators could be judged as follows: it is possible to use all the chosen indicators apart from the indicator tail lesions as an internal controlling instrument or as part of an internal weak-point analysis as long as the indicators are evaluated by the same person. A comparison of the indicators tail lesions, lameness and faecal soiling when assessed by different observers should be considered critically because the Inter-OR of these three indicators could only be considered as being ‘poor’ to ‘fair’.     

Scrotal size of yearling sires and early calving in beef herds: epidemiological investigation of possible causal pathways

Scrotal circumference has been recommended as a clinical test for predicting the fertility potential of yearling bulls. The objectives of this study were to determine if scrotal size of yearling bulls influences herd fertility and to investigate specific causal pathways. Calving records from 44 herds enrolled in the Beef Herd Improvement Plan were selected from the data base for 1984 to 1989. Logistic regression was used to model the event of calving within the first 3 wk of the calving season as a function of scrotal circumference, herd size, age and the interactions of scrotal circumference with age, scrotal circumference with herd size, and herd size with age and the random effects of herd. The odds of cows calving in the first 3 weeks of the calving season were lower in large herds (>30 vs 20 to 30 calves born per season) and with younger yearling bulls (12 to 15 vs. 16 to 18 months of age). Early calving was not associated with scrotal circumference, or the interactions scrotal circumference with herd size and scrotal circumference with age (p > 0.15). It was concluded that the female:male ratio and age of bull both affected the odds of a cow calving early, but neither of the associations was altered by selection for bulls with a larger scrotal circumference, and therefore scrotal circumference is not included in either of the 2 causal pathways.     

Sensitivity to reward loss as an indicator of animal emotion and welfare

The scientific study of animal emotion is an important emerging discipline in subjects ranging from neuroscience to animal welfare research. In the absence of direct measures of conscious emotion, indirect behavioural and physiological measures are used. However, these may have significant limitations (e.g. indicating emotional arousal but not valence (positivity versus negativity)). A new approach, taking its impetus from human studies, proposes that biases in information processing, and underlying mechanisms relating to the evaluation of reward gains and losses, may reliably reflect emotional valence in animals. In general, people are more sensitive to reward losses than gains, but people in a negative affective state (e.g. depression) are particularly sensitive to losses. This may underlie broader findings such as an enhanced attention to, and memory of, negative events in depressed individuals. Here we show that rats in unenriched housing, who typically exhibit indicators of poorer welfare and a more negative affective state than those in enriched housing, display a prolonged response to a decrease in anticipated food reward, indicating enhanced sensitivity to reward loss. Sensitivity to reward reduction may thus be a valuable new indicator of animal emotion and welfare.     

An investigation of an autonomic innervation of the vertebral artery using monoamine histofluorescence

Blood flow to the hindbrain, via the paired vertebral arteries, must be uncompromised for adequate neurological functioning of its vital centres. Therefore, it would seem unlikely that the intracranial vertebral artery would need to vasoconstrict, thus reducing its blood flow. In order to investigate the existence and location of a noradrenaline-mediated constrictor mechanism in the wall of the intracranial vertebral artery, transverse sections of ten baboon and ten monkey vessels were stained with sucrose-potassium phosphate-glyoxylic acid (counterstained with malachite-green). This method allows the visualisation of catecholaminergic nerves when the sections are exposed to ultraviolet light. In this study of primate vascular tissue, however, none of the monkey or baboon vertebral artery sections showed the presence of noradrenergic nerves in the tunica media - tunica adventitia junction or penetrating the tunica media of the arteries. These findings indicate that the intracranial vertebral artery does not have a neurogenic vasomotor function in primates.     

Development of an animal adaptability index: Application for dairy cows

The objective of this study was designed to evaluate the association between thermoregulatory responses, hormonal, hematological and serum biochemical values features aiming to propose an adaptability index (AI) for dairy cows under tropical conditions. Thirty adult dairy cows were used, including 15 Sindi and 15 Girolando breeds with mean weight of 338.52 ± 42.79 kg and 487.54 ± 60.67 kg, respectively. These data included rectal temperature (RT) and respiratory rate (RR). For the serum of blood sample, the levels of glucose (GLU), cholesterol (CHO), triglycerides (TRI), total protein (TP), creatinine (CRE), albumin (ALB), urea (URE), aspartate aminotrasferase (AST) and alanine aminotrasferase (ALT) and hormonal concentrations (triiodothyronine – T₃ and thyroxine – T₄). For the total blood samples were analyzed for hematology variables: red blood cell count (RBC); hemoglobin concentration (HC); packet cell volume (PCV); mean corpuscular volume (MCV); white blood cell (WBC). The AI was development using multivariate analysis to "weigh" the influence of each variable in the animal responses. The variables more important for adaptive aspects of Sindi and Girolando cows were respectively: GLU; MCV; AST; PCV; RBC; HE; TP; ALB; ALT; RR; T₄; RT; T₃; URE; CHO; TRI; CRE; WBC and ALB; GLU; TP; AST; RR; ALT; CRE; CHO; RT; RBC; T₄; HE; PCV; MCV; URE; TRI; WBC; T₃. The difference between breeds was just over 8% for AI. We developed a preliminary AI, able to measure the level of adaptability of dairy cows under tropical region. The methodological framework has potential to inform decision-makers on the adaptability animal conditions and high inference of the blood values from adaptability of cows.     

Space use as an indicator of enclosure appropriateness: A novel measure of captive animal welfare

Empirical measures of animal behavior and space use within the captive environment can provide critical information about animals’ requirements, preferences and internal states. The trend toward naturalistic environments has shown promise in terms of behavioral benefits for animals such as great apes, and there have been several studies of the effects of complex environments on captive apes. However, few recent investigations have objectively compared environmental preferences between two distinct enclosures. In this study, we assessed how ape space use varied within and across two very different environments: an indoor, hardscape enclosure and an indoor/outdoor, naturalistic enclosure. Within-facility tests were conducted by comparing data from behavioral observations of the apes’ position in the enclosures to measurements of the space and the availability of individual environmental elements. Between-facility comparisons utilized electivity index calculations to assess both the degree of use for specific features and the degree to which these selections strengthened or weakened in the new facility. Both gorillas and chimpanzees showed significant structural preferences in the older, hardscape environment: positioning themselves by mesh barriers (chimpanzees: P = 0.005; gorillas: P < 0.001) and corners (P = 0.005; gorillas: P < 0.001) more than would be expected by random spatial utilization, and avoiding open spaces (chimpanzees: P = 0.005; gorillas: P < 0.001) not adjacent to any physical structure. A new, naturalistic enclosure was constructed using preference data from the previous facility. In the new facility, both species of ape substantially altered the way in which they chose to position themselves in the enclosure. Chimpanzees used most of the environmental elements at rates more similar to the proportions they were available. While gorilla's preference corners was maintained in the new facility, preferences for doorways and mesh barriers disappeared. Comparing electivity indices facilitated an empirical comparison of space use preferences. Chimpanzees showed significant differences in how they used structural elements (P = 0.021), mesh barriers (P = 0.009) and corners (P = 0.016) in the new facility. Gorillas’ environmental selections were similarly altered in the new facility, as selections of areas adjacent to doorways (P = 0.003), glass barriers (P = 0.005), structural elements (P < 0.001), and mesh barriers (P = 0.012) were all significantly affected by the transfer. This approach is useful for understanding how captive animals utilize their enclosures and we advocate that electivity indices can be added to a growing list of tools to assess the effect of captive environments on animal welfare.     

Purification of animal immunoglobulin G (IgG) using peptoid affinity ligands

The availability of highly pure animal antibodies is critical in the production of diagnostic tools and biosensors. The peptoid PL16, previously isolated from an ensemble of peptoid variants of the IgG-binding peptide HWRGWV, was utilized in this work as affinity ligand on WorkBeads resin for the purification of immunoglobulin G (IgG) from a variety of mammalian sources and chicken immunoglobulin Y (IgY). The chromatographic protocol initially optimized for murine serum and ascites was subsequently employed for processing rabbit, goat and sheep, donkey, llama, and chicken sera. The PL16-WorkBeads resin proved able to recover all antibody targets with values of yield between 50 and 90%, and purity consistently above 90%. Notably, PL16 not only binds a broader spectrum of animal immunoglobulins than the reference ligands Protein A and G, but it also binds equally well with all their subclasses. Unlike the protein ligands, in fact, PL16 afforded excellent values of yield and purity of mammalian polyclonal IgG, namely murine (47 and 94%), rabbit (66.5 and 91.7%), caprine IgG (63 and 91–95%), donkey, and llama (93 and 97%), as well as chicken IgY (42 and 92%). Of notice, it is also the ability of PL16 to target monomeric IgG without binding aggregated IgG; when challenged with a mixture of monomeric and aggregated murine IgG, PL16 eluted <3% of fed aggregates, against 11–13% eluted by Protein A and G. Collectively, these results prove the potential of the proposed peptoid ligand for large-scale purification of animal immunoglobulins.     

An investigation of the growth characteristics of oil-palm (Elaeis guineensis) suspension cultures using31P NMR

High-resolution³¹P nuclear-magnetic-resonance (NMR) spectra are reported for oil-palm (Elaeis guineensis) cells in suspension culture. The spectra are a signicant improvement on the results that have appeared for other cultures and they are comparable with the spectra of the meristematic tissue in seedling roots. The NMR technique was used in parallel with other analytical methods to investigate the growth characteristics of the suspension culture, indluding the effect of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid.     

Towards the on-farm conservation of the assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis (Walker) (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) during winter using crop plants as refuges

Abstract Habitat instability associated with seasonal crop succession in broad-acre farming systems presents a problem for the conservation and utilisation of beneficial insects in annual field crops. The present paper describes two experiments used to measure the potential of seven plant species to be utilised as winter refuges to support and conserve the predatory bug Pristhesancus plagipennis (Walker). In the first experiment, replicated plots of canola ( Brassica napus ), red salvia ( Salvia coccinea ), niger ( Guizotia abyssinica ), linseed ( Linum usitatissimum ), lupins ( Lupinus angustifolius ), and lucerne ( Medicago falcata ) were planted in a randomized experiment during Autumn 1998. Upon crop establishment, adults and nymphs of P. plagipennis were released into treatment plots and their numbers were assessed, along with those of their potential prey, throughout the ensuing winter months. Post-release sampling suggested that canola and niger retained a proportion of adult P. plagipennis , while niger, lucerne and canola retained some nymphs. The other plant species failed to support P. plagipennis nymphs and adults postrelease. In the second experiment, niger was compared with two lines of sunflower ( Helianthus annus ). Both sunflower lines harboured significantly higher ( P  < 0.05) densities of P. plagipennis nymphs than did niger. The more successful refuge treatments (sunflower, niger and canola) had an abundance of yellow flowers that were attractive to pollinating insects, which served as supplementary prey on which P. plagipennis were observed to feed. Sunflower and niger also supported high densities of the prey insect Creontiades dilutus (Stål) and provided protective leafy canopies which supplied shelter during the winter months. The potential and limitations for using each plant species as a winter refuge to retain P. plagipennis during winter are discussed.     

Development of automatic surveillance of animal behaviour and welfare using image analysis and machine learned segmentation technique

In this paper the feasibility to extract the proportion of pigs located in different areas of a pig pen by advanced image analysis technique is explored and discussed for possible applications. For example, pigs generally locate themselves in the wet dunging area at high ambient temperatures in order to avoid heat stress, as wetting the body surface is the major path to dissipate the heat by evaporation. Thus, the portion of pigs in the dunging area and resting area, respectively, could be used as an indicator of failure of controlling the climate in the pig environment as pigs are not supposed to rest in the dunging area. The computer vision methodology utilizes a learning based segmentation approach using several features extracted from the image. The learning based approach applied is based on extended state-of-the-art features in combination with a structured prediction framework based on a logistic regression solver using elastic net regularization. In addition, the method is able to produce a probability per pixel rather than form a hard decision. This overcomes some of the limitations found in a setup using grey-scale information only. The pig pen is a difficult imaging environment because of challenging lighting conditions like shadows, poor lighting and poor contrast between pig and background. In order to test practical conditions, a pen containing nine young pigs was filmed from a top view perspective by an Axis M3006 camera with a resolution of 640×480 in three, 10-min sessions under different lighting conditions. The results indicate that a learning based method improves, in comparison with greyscale methods, the possibility to reliable identify proportions of pigs in different areas of the pen. Pigs with a changed behaviour (location) in the pen may indicate changed climate conditions. Changed individual behaviour may also indicate inferior health or acute illness.     

An angiosperm quality index (AQI) for Cantabrian estuaries

Angiosperms are an important biological parameter for establishing the status in transitional waters. Angiosperms grow from subtidal to upper intertidal zones and are sensitive to the most important pressures present in estuaries. A multi-metric for determining the status of Cantabrian estuaries has been developed by taking into account the angiosperms that live in these environments. This metric integrates two important directives: the Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Habitats Directive. To be precise, the diversity of the existing habitats, the coverage in relative terms with respect to the optimal situation, and the loss of extension are considered in the metric. The application of the method to three Cantabrian estuaries subjected to different pressures demonstrates that the metric captures the degree of pressures of each estuary. The multi-metric method allows us to identify the type of problems to be tackled by the relevant authorities in the programme of measures of the river basin management plan.     

An investigation of the mechanism of activation of tryptophan by tryptophanyl-tRNA synthetase from beef pancreas

Exposure of dark-grown Euglena to white or red light, but not blue light, produced a twofold increase in the specific activity of citrate synthase. A 400-fold purification of mitochondrial citrate synthase (subunit Mr = 44000) was achieved from cells of Euglena gracilis by affinity chromatography on ATP-activated agarose. Antisera, raised against the homogeneously pure enzyme, were used to demonstrate that the increase in citrate synthase activity on exposure of dark-grown cells to light resulted from an increase in citrate synthase protein. Anti-(citrate synthase) was used to detect precursor citrate synthase resulting from the translation of total polyadenylated RNA from Euglena in a cell-free rabbit reticulocyte lysate system. Citrate synthase mRNA was found to be present in cells at all stages of regreening. However, extraction and translation of polyadenylated RNA from free polysomes isolated from darkgrown and regreening cells demonstrated that appreciable translation of citrate synthase mRNA was only occurring in regreening cells.