Comparison of the welfare of beef cattle in housed and grazing systems: hormones, health, and behaviour.

Animal welfare encompasses all aspects of an animal's life and the interactions between animals. Consequently, welfare must be measured across a variety of factors that consider aspects such as health, behaviour, and mental state. Decisions regarding housing and grazing are central to farm management. In this study, two beef cattle systems and their herds were compared from weaning to slaughter across numerous indicators. One herd ("HH") were continuously housed, the other ("HG") were housed only during winter. Inspections of animals were conducted to assess body condition, cleanliness, diarrhoea, hairlessness, nasal discharge, and ocular discharge. Hair and nasal mucus samples were taken for quantification of cortisol and serotonin. Qualitative behaviour assessments (QBA) were also conducted and performance monitored. Physical health indicators were similar between herds with the exception of nasal discharge which was more prevalent in HH (P < 0.001). During winter, QBA yielded differences between herds over PC1 (arousal) (P = 0.032), but not PC2 (mood) (P = 0.139). Through summer, there was a strong difference across both PC1 (P < 0.001) and PC2 (P = 0.002), with HG exhibiting more positive behaviour. A difference was found in hair cortisol levels, with the greatest concentrations observed in HG (P = 0.011), however such a pattern was not seen for nasal mucus cortisol, or for serotonin. Overall, providing summer grazing (HG) appeared to afford welfare benefits to the cattle as shown with more positive QBA assessments, but also slightly better health indicators, notwithstanding the higher levels of cortisol in that group.

Predictive index for adverse perinatal outcome in pregnancies complicated by fetal growth restriction.

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate an index predictive of adverse perinatal outcome (APO) in pregnancies meeting the consensus-based criteria for fetal growth restriction (FGR) endorsed by the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology (ISUOG). METHODS: This was a retrospective analysis of consecutive singleton non-anomalous gestations meeting the ISUOG-endorsed criteria for FGR at a single tertiary care center from November 2010 to August 2020. The dataset was divided randomly into a development set (two-thirds) and a validation set (one-third). The primary composite APO comprised one or more of: perinatal demise, Grade III-IV intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), seizures, hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), sepsis, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) and length of stay in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) > 7 days. Regression analysis incorporated clinical factors readily available at the time of FGR diagnosis. The sum of ß coefficient-based weights yielded an index score, the performance of which was assessed in the validation set. Score cut-offs were selected to identify 'high-risk' and 'low-risk' ranges for which positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values and positive (LR+) and negative (LR-) likelihood ratios were calculated. RESULTS: Of the 875 consecutive pregnancies that met the criteria for FGR and were included in the study cohort, 405 (46%) were complicated by one or more components of the composite APO, including 54 (6%) perinatal deaths, 22 (3%) neonates with Grade III-IV IVH and/or PVL, nine (1%) with seizures and/or HIE, 91 (10%) with BPD, 57 (7%) with sepsis, 21 (2%) with NEC, and 361 (41%) who remained in the NICU > 7 days. In addition, 270 (31%) pregnancies were delivered by Cesarean section for non-reassuring fetal status, 43 (5%) were admitted to the NICU for < 7 days, 79 (9%) had 5-min Apgar score < 7, 125/631 (20%) had a cord gas pH ≤ 7.1 and 35/631 (6%) had a base excess ≥ 12 mmol/L. The predictive index we developed included seven factors available at the time of FGR diagnosis: hypertensive disorder of pregnancy (HDP) (+8 points), chronic hypertension without HDP (+4 points), gestational age ≤ 32 weeks (+5 points), absent or reversed end-diastolic flow in the umbilical artery (+8 points), prepregnancy body mass index ≥ 35 kg/m2 (+3 points), isolated abdominal circumference < 3rd percentile (-4 points) and non-Hispanic black race (-2 points). The bias-corrected bootstrapped (1000 replicates) area under the receiver-operating-characteristics curve (AUC) of the predictive index for composite APO in the validation group was 0.88 (95% CI, 0.84-0.92), which was similar to that in the development group (AUC, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.82-0.89); P = 0.34). In the total cohort, 40% of pregnancies had a low-risk index score (≤ 2), associated with a NPV of 85% (95% CI, 81-88%) and a LR- of 0.21 (95% CI, 0.16-0.27), and 23% had a high-risk index score (≥ 10), associated with a PPV of 96% (95% CI, 93-98%) and a LR+ of 27.36 (95% CI, 14.33-52.23). Of the remaining pregnancies that had an intermediate-risk score, 50% were complicated by composite APO. CONCLUSION: An easy-to-use index incorporating seven clinical factors readily available at the time of FGR diagnosis is predictive of APO and may prove useful in counseling and management of pregnancies meeting the ISUOG-endorsed criteria for FGR. © 2022 International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology.

V-QBA vs. QBA-How Do Video and Live Analysis Compare for Qualitative Behaviour Assessment?

Animal welfare is an inextricable part of livestock production and sustainability. Assessing welfare, beyond physical indicators of health, is challenging and often relies on qualitative techniques. Behaviour is a key component of welfare to consider and Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) aims to achieve this by systematically scoring behaviour across specific terms. In recent years, numerous studies have conducted QBA by using video footage, however, the method was not originally developed using video and video QBA (V-QBA) requires validation. Forty live QBAs were conducted, by two assessors, on housed beef cattle to help fill this validation gap. Video was recorded over the assessment period and a second video assessment was conducted. Live and video scores for each term were compared for both correlation and significant difference. Principle component analysis (PCA) was then conducted and correlations and differences between QBA and V-QBA for the first two components were calculated. Of the 20 terms, three were removed due to an overwhelming majority of scores of zero. Of the remaining 17 terms, 12 correlated significantly, and a significant pairwise difference was found for one ("Bored"). QBA and V-QBA results correlated across both PC1 (defined as "arousal") and PC2 (defined as "mood"). Whilst there was no significant difference between the techniques for PC1, there was for PC2, with V-QBA generally yielding lower scores than QBA. Furthermore, based on PC1 and PC2, corresponding QBA and V-QBA scores were significantly closer than would be expected at random. Results found broad agreement between QBA and V-QBA at both univariate and multivariate levels. However, the lack of absolute agreement and muted V-QBA results for PC2 mean that caution should be taken when implementing V-QBA and that it should ideally be treated independently from live QBA until further evidence is published. Future research should focus on a greater variety of animals, environments, and assessors to address further validation of the method.

Communication challenges experienced by veterinary professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions have caused major changes in veterinary practice. Utilising a subset of qualitative data from a global survey of 540 veterinarians, veterinary nurses and animal health technicians, we highlight the impact of these changes on communication in veterinary clinical practice. Communication challenges experienced by veterinary team members included lack of face-to-face contact with clients; increased difficulty in communicating in general; inability to demonstrate physical examination, diagnostic findings or treatment information to clients; difficulty in communicating while wearing personal protective equipment; increased 'miscommunication' and challenges in convincing clients of the importance of pandemic-associated protocols. These findings suggest a need for veterinary teams to modify and adapt their communication strategies to facilitate effective communication where social distancing and noncontact consultations are required.

Does cattle and sheep grazing under best management significantly elevate sediment losses? Evidence from the North Wyke Farm Platform, UK.

PURPOSE: Intensive livestock grazing has been associated with an increased risk of soil erosion and concomitant negative impacts on the ecological status of watercourses. Whilst various mitigation options are promoted for reducing livestock impacts, there is a paucity of data on the relationship between stocking rates and quantified sediment losses. This evidence gap means there is uncertainty regarding the cost-benefit of policy preferred best management. METHODS: Sediment yields from 15 hydrologically isolated field scale catchments on a heavily instrumented ruminant livestock farm in the south west UK were investigated over ~ 26 months spread across 6 years. Sediment yields were compared to cattle and sheep stocking rates on long-term, winter (November-April), and monthly timescales. The impacts of livestock on soil vegetation cover and bulk density were also examined. Cattle were tracked using GPS collars to determine how grazing related to soil damage. RESULTS: No observable impact of livestock stocking rates of 0.15-1.00 UK livestock units (LU) ha-1 for sheep, and 0-0.77 LU ha-1 for cattle on sediment yields was observed at any of the three timescales. Cattle preferentially spent time close to specific fences where soils were visually damaged. However, there was no indication that livestock have a significant effect on soil bulk density on a field scale. Livestock were housed indoors during winters when most rainfall occurs, and best management practices were used which when combined with low erodibility clayey soils likely limited sediment losses. CONCLUSION: A combination of clayey soils and soil trampling in only a small proportion of the field areas lead to little impact from grazing livestock. Within similar landscapes with best practice livestock grazing management, additional targeted measures to reduce erosion are unlikely to yield a significant cost-benefit. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11368-021-02909-y.

'Would it sell more pork?' Pig farmers' perceptions of Real Welfare, the welfare outcome component of their farm assurance scheme.

In the UK, the pig industry is leading the way in the adoption of welfare outcome measures as part of their farm assurance scheme. The welfare outcome assessment (WOA), known as Real Welfare, is conducted by the farmers' own veterinary surgeon. For the first time, this has allowed the pig industry to evaluate welfare by directly assessing the animal itself and to document the welfare of the UK pig industry as a whole. Farmer perspectives of the addition of a welfare outcome assessment to their farm assurance scheme have yet to be explored. Here, we investigate how the introduction of the Real Welfare protocol has been perceived by the farmers involved, what value it has (if any), whether any practical changes on farm have been a direct consequence of Real Welfare and ultimately whether they consider that the welfare of their pigs has been improved by the introduction of the Real Welfare protocol. Semi-structured interviews with 15 English pig farmers were conducted to explore their perceptions and experiences of the Real Welfare process. Our findings fall into three key areas: the lived experience of Real Welfare, on-farm changes resulting from Real Welfare and suggested improvements to the Real Welfare process as it currently stands. In all the three areas, the value farmers placed on the addition of WOA appeared to reflect their veterinary surgeon's attitude towards the Real Welfare protocol. If the vet was engaged in the process and actively included the farmer, for example through discussion of their findings, the farmers interviewed had a greater appreciation of the benefits of Real Welfare themselves. It is recommended that future similar schemes should work with veterinary surgeons to ensure their understanding and engagement with the process, as well as identifying and promoting how the scheme will practically benefit individual farmers rather than assuming that they will be motivated to engage for the good of the industry alone. Retailers should be encouraged to use Real Welfare as a marketing tool for pig products to enhance the perceived commercial value of this protocol to farmers.

Nature and governance of veterinary clinical research conducted in the UK.

In order to quantify the amount of clinical research conducted on client-owned animals under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, and the nature and extent of any ethical review of that research, a questionnaire was sent to 6 UK veterinary schools, 1 charity veterinary clinic and 12 private referral clinics. The questionnaire examined whether and how much clinical research respondents undertook, and the composition of any ethical review panels examining research proposals. The questionnaire revealed a substantial amount of clinical research was conducted in the UK, with over 200 veterinary surgeons involved in the year of the survey, with at least 170 academic papers involving clinical research published by respondents in the same year. However, it proved impossible to quantify the full extent of clinical research in the UK. All UK veterinary schools required ethical review of clinical research. The composition and working practices of their ethical review panels generally reflected skill sets in ethical review panels set-up under statute to consider the ethics of non-clinical biomedical research on animals and clinical research conducted on human patients. The process for review of clinical research in the private sector was less clear.

Assessment of unnecessary suffering in animals by veterinary experts.

Veterinary surgeons are often asked to provide reports to courts describing factual observations and their expert opinion on the presence or absence of unnecessary suffering in animals. This study reviewed 42 expert witness reports in order to describe the approach taken to the assessment of unnecessary suffering. While most reports suitably described factual observations, there was significant variation in the opinions on suffering and the actions of the owner. Severity and duration of potential suffering was commented upon in 26 and 29 reports, respectively. Experts used terms associated with negative mental states and physical states in 28 and 27 reports, respectively. The necessity of suffering was commented upon in 27 reports, with minimal commentary on the actions of the owner. External references supporting the opinion of the expert were only provided in 13 reports. There was evidence of disputes between experts concerning the definition of suffering, the significance of clinical findings and the relevance of different assessment methods. It is suggested that expert witness reports should include a systematic consideration of the animal's mental and physical states, severity of harm, duration of harm and a commentary on the necessity of suffering as defined by legislation.

Sequential sampling: a novel method in farm animal welfare assessment.

Lameness in dairy cows is an important welfare issue. As part of a welfare assessment, herd level lameness prevalence can be estimated from scoring a sample of animals, where higher levels of accuracy are associated with larger sample sizes. As the financial cost is related to the number of cows sampled, smaller samples are preferred. Sequential sampling schemes have been used for informing decision making in clinical trials. Sequential sampling involves taking samples in stages, where sampling can stop early depending on the estimated lameness prevalence. When welfare assessment is used for a pass/fail decision, a similar approach could be applied to reduce the overall sample size. The sampling schemes proposed here apply the principles of sequential sampling within a diagnostic testing framework. This study develops three sequential sampling schemes of increasing complexity to classify 80 fully assessed UK dairy farms, each with known lameness prevalence. Using the Welfare Quality herd-size-based sampling scheme, the first 'basic' scheme involves two sampling events. At the first sampling event half the Welfare Quality sample size is drawn, and then depending on the outcome, sampling either stops or is continued and the same number of animals is sampled again. In the second 'cautious' scheme, an adaptation is made to ensure that correctly classifying a farm as 'bad' is done with greater certainty. The third scheme is the only scheme to go beyond lameness as a binary measure and investigates the potential for increasing accuracy by incorporating the number of severely lame cows into the decision. The three schemes are evaluated with respect to accuracy and average sample size by running 100 000 simulations for each scheme, and a comparison is made with the fixed size Welfare Quality herd-size-based sampling scheme. All three schemes performed almost as well as the fixed size scheme but with much smaller average sample sizes. For the third scheme, an overall association between lameness prevalence and the proportion of lame cows that were severely lame on a farm was found. However, as this association was found to not be consistent across all farms, the sampling scheme did not prove to be as useful as expected. The preferred scheme was therefore the 'cautious' scheme for which a sampling protocol has also been developed.

Navigating the iceberg: reducing the number of parameters within the Welfare Quality(®) assessment protocol for dairy cows.

The Welfare Quality(®) protocols provide a multidimensional assessment of welfare, which is lengthy, and hence limited in terms of practicality. The aim of this study was to investigate potential 'iceberg indicators' which could reliably predict the overall classification as a means of reducing the length of time for an assessment and so increase the feasibility of the Welfare Quality(®) protocol as a multidimensional assessment of welfare. Full Welfare Quality(®) assessments were carried out on 92 dairy farms in England and Wales. The farms were all classified as Acceptable or Enhanced. Logistic regression models with cross validation were used to compare model fit for the overall classification on farms. 'Absence of prolonged thirst', on its own, was found to correctly classify farms 88% of the time. More generally, the inclusion of more measures in the models was not associated with greater predictive ability for the overall classification. Absence of prolonged thirst could thus, in theory, be considered to be an iceberg indicator for the Welfare Quality(®) protocol, and could reduce the length of time for a farm assessment to 15 min. Previous work has shown that the parameters within the Welfare Quality(®) protocol are important and relevant for welfare assessment. However, it is argued that the credibility of the published aggregation system is compromised by the finding that one resource measure (Absence of prolonged thirst) is a major driver for the overall classification. It is therefore suggested that the prominence of Absence of prolonged thirst in this role may be better understood as an unintended consequence of the published measure aggregation system rather than as reflecting a realistic iceberg indicator.

Applying ethological and health indicators to practical animal welfare assessment.

There is a growing effort worldwide to develop objective indicators for animal welfare assessment, which provide information on an animal's quality of life, are scientifically trustworthy, and can readily be used in practice by professionals. Animals are sentient beings capable of positive and negative emotion, and so these indicators should be sensitive not only to their physical health, but also to their experience of the conditions in which they live. This paper provides an outline of ethological research aimed at developing practical welfare assessment protocols. The first section focuses on the development and validation of welfare indicators generally, in terms of their relevance to animal well-being, their interobserver reliability, and the confidence with which the prevalence of described features can be estimated. Challenges in this work include accounting for the ways in which welfare measures may fluctuate over time, and identifying measures suited to monitoring positive welfare states. The second section focuses more specifically on qualitative welfare indicators, which assess the 'whole animal' and describe the expressive qualities of its demeanour (e.g. anxious, content). Such indicators must be validated in the same way as other health and behaviour indicators, with the added challenge of finding appropriate methods of measurement. The potential contribution of qualitative indicators, however, is to disclose an emotional richness in animals that helps to interpret information provided by other indicators, thus enhancing the validity of welfare assessment protocols. In conclusion, the paper emphasises the importance of integrating such different perspectives, showing that new knowledge of animals and new ways of relating to animals are both needed for the successful development of practical welfare assessment tools.

Promoting discussions and decisions about dogs' quality-of-life.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to report the formulation and preliminary testing of a participatory tool in order to encourage discussions and decisions about dogs' quality-of-life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A tool was designed in which owners rated aspects of their dog's quality-of-life. Two randomised controlled trials were conducted: one with a veterinary surgeon who was involved in the tool design, the second with other veterinary surgeons. In each, owners either were given the tool before a veterinary consultation or underwent normal consultations. After each consultation, owners were asked to report what they had discussed and what decisions they had made. RESULTS: The study involved a total of 170 consultations, of which 91 were randomly allocated to the tool group and 79 into the control group. In both trials, using the tool was associated with a significant increase in the frequency of discussions. In the first trial, using the tool was also associated with an increase in the number of decisions made, but this was not found in the second trial with practitioners who were not involved in the trial design. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: These data suggest that the use of a participatory tool has the potential to enhance the effectiveness of consultations, especially if the practitioner is familiar with the tool design.

Knowledge and attitudes of 52 UK pet rabbit owners at the point of sale.

The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge and attitudes of pet rabbit owners at the time of buying their rabbit(s) and to investigate factors influencing the planned husbandry and housing of their rabbit(s). A questionnaire was used to assess the impact of demographics, knowledge and attitudes on the likelihood that respondents would neuter their rabbit(s), feed them an appropriate diet, house them in appropriately sized housing and provide them with an appropriate companion. Knowledge and attitudes were significant factors in whether respondents planned to neuter their rabbit(s) and provide them with an appropriate companion. The attribution of secondary emotions to rabbits was associated with plans to feed a mix-type diet. The majority of owners had carried out prior research into pet rabbits, but owners had a limited knowledge of the needs of rabbits, particularly with respect to their diet and social needs. Respondents who had decided to purchase a rabbit on the day were less likely to intend to get their rabbit neutered than those who had taken more time to decide to buy a rabbit.

Consultation of pig farmers on the inclusion of some welfare outcome assessments within UK farm assurance.

Fifty-six pig farmers who attended a series of health seminars completed a questionnaire to assess their attitude to the inclusion of some welfare outcome assessments within farm assurance. In answer to open questions, farmers were most commonly proud of the productivity (27.5 per cent) and welfare (23.5 per cent) of the pigs on their farm, and the welfare of pigs in the UK industry as a whole (26.1 per cent). The most common thing that farmers wanted to tell consumers about was the welfare of the pigs (55.8 per cent), followed by their stockmanship qualities, the quality of their pig meat and the safety of their pig meat (all 13.5 per cent). In answer to closed questions, 66 per cent of farmers stated they would be either quite willing or very willing to perform welfare self-assessments as part of farm assurance, and 66 per cent would be quite or very willing to be anonymously benchmarked on the welfare of their pigs.

Preliminary evaluation of a quality-of-life screening programme for pet dogs.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate a potential screening programme that would raise awareness of welfare consideration of pet dogs visiting a veterinary practice. METHODS: The questionnaire asked owners to provide biographical information about their dog, assess the resources they provided their dog (comfort, exercise, diet, mental stimulation and companionship) from the perspective of their dog's wellbeing and choice, score a range of behavioural and medical signs on visual analogue scale, rate how willing they would be to take on the life of their dog on a visual analogue scale and suggest changes that would improve the quality of life of their dog. RESULTS: Twenty-seven owners completed the questionnaire on consecutive days. There was good correlation for all the parameters between the two days (P<0.05). Of the 16 expected correlations to test internal consistency, nine were significant (P<0.05). Twenty-six per cent of owners scored in the top 10 mm of the visual analogue scale for being willing to "take on the life their dog was living". More exercise was the most commonly suggested change to improve quality of life (14 owners). CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The questionnaire was found to be repeatable, feasible and to have good internal consistency and validity, making it suitable for use in veterinary practice to assess welfare.

Behaviour and personality of pet rabbits and their interactions with their owners.

The behaviour and personality of 102 pet rabbits and their interactions with their owners were assessed in their home environment. Information was obtained by interviews with the owner and by direct observation, and the owners were asked to describe the personality of their rabbit. A 10-minute assessment of the rabbit's behaviour in its normal environment was then carried out. Owners who were confident in handling their rabbit handled them more frequently and rabbits that were handled more frequently struggled less when they were being handled. Rabbits observed with a companion spent the largest proportion of their time engaged in social behaviour, and rabbits observed out of a hutch spent significantly more time grazing, hopping and playing. Owners used a wide range of adjectives to describe their rabbits' personalities with the most common term being ;friendly'.

Survey of the husbandry, health and welfare of 102 pet rabbits.

One hundred and two pet rabbits were examined and their husbandry, health and welfare were reviewed. The most common breed was the dwarf lop (n = 38). The most common problem was dental disease, which affected 30 rabbits although only six of their owners were aware of the problem, which was significantly associated with feeding a rabbit mix. All the rabbits were housed in ;hutches' at some stage, but 89 had access to the outside and 47 came inside the home at times. Hutches bought at pet shops were significantly smaller than home-made hutches. Forty-five of the rabbits were housed alone; the relationships between rabbits with rabbit companions were described by their owners as ;very friendly' for 84 per cent of them and ;quite friendly' for the rest.

Thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction facilitated by mobile coronary care.

BACKGROUND: The benefit of Thrombolytic Therapy (TT) for acute myocardial infarction is time sensitive. In Northern Ireland widespread availability of mobile coronary care units facilitates delivery of TT to heart attack victims. This region-wide prospective observational study assessed the efficacy of various methods of delivery of TT. METHODS: All 15 acute hospitals providing acute coronary care in Northern Ireland participated and data were collected prospectively over six months on all patients admitted with acute myocardial infarction or who received TT. The information was analysed regarding appropriateness of TT, methods and timeliness of delivery of TT and mortality rates. Performance was measured against National Service Framework standards. FINDINGS: Of 1638 patients with acute myocardial infarction 584 were considered eligible for TT and 494 (85 %) received it, in addition to 18 patients without infarction. Of the 512 thrombolysed patients 282 (55%) were treated in hospital coronary care units, 131 (26%) were treated pre-hospital, 97 (19%) in accident and emergency departments, and two in general medical wards. Overall median call-to-needle time was 87 (7-1110) mins and this was shortest for pre-hospital treatment when 55% of call-to-needle times were < or = 60 mins. For patients treated in hospital median door-to-needle time was 46 (0-1065) mins and this was shortest when TT was administered by accident and emergency staff, when 65% of door-to-needle times were < or = 30 mins. In patients with ST elevation myocardial infarction TT was associated with lower mortality, especially when administered pre-hospital. INTERPRETATION: NSF targets for TT are unlikely to be met in Northern Ireland without increasing pre-hospital delivery of TT and by improving collaboration between coronary care and accident and emergency staff with TT availability in accident and emergency departments.