Farm animal welfare indicators: a critical review

  • Juan Pablo Damián Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República
  • Rodolfo Ungerfeld Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República

Abstract

The aim of this review was to analyze and discuss the use of different indicators of animal welfare (AW) in farm animals. Practices such as castration, tail docking, weaning, transport and slaughter induce a stress response, often accompanied by pain and injuries. This can affect the productive results, both in quantity and quality of the product, and have a negative impact on AW. In this review, we discuss a number of indicators of AW and propose that a combination of them should be used to assess AW in farm animals. Many indicators of AW have been validated for certain types of handling and production systems, mainly in European countries. However, since environment, management and production systems may influence the stress response, it is necessary to develop indicators appropriate to production systems in Latin America.

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Author Biographies

Juan Pablo Damián, Departamento de Biología Molecular y Celular, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República
DMTV, MSc.. Dr. Juan Pablo Damián Asistente del Área de Bioquímica, Departamento de Biología Molecular y celular, Facultad de Veterinaria, UdelaR.
Rodolfo Ungerfeld, Departamento de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República
Lic. MSc. PhD. Prof. Agregado de Fisiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, UdelaR.
Published
2012-09-25
How to Cite
Damián, Juan Pablo, and Rodolfo Ungerfeld. 2012. “Farm Animal Welfare Indicators: A Critical Review”. Archivos Latinoamericanos De Producción Animal 21 (2). https://ojs.alpa.uy/index.php/ojs_files/article/view/2257.
Section
Invited papers