Assessing the Welfare of Dairy Cows:

Transcription

1 Assessing the Welfare of Dairy Cows: Surveying UK Dairy Farmer and Cattle Vet Opinion This survey is part of a larger DairyCo-funded research project at the Royal Veterinary College Current on-farm welfare assessment protocols are often based on a large number of assessment criteria and consequently they can be lengthy and time-consuming to complete. The Royal Veterinary College s research project aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of dairy cow welfare assessment, by developing and trialling the use of more succinct assessment protocols. To assist with the development of these succinct protocols the survey aims to identify the different criteria which UK dairy farmers and cattle vets use to assess the welfare of dairy cows on farm, and to identify which criteria are considered to be the most informative. It is expected that along with enhanced dairy cow health and welfare, as a result of improved assessment techniques this project will help reduce assessment time and costs, as well as reducing the amount of paperwork associated with on-farm welfare assessment. To thank you for your time and much valued input, upon completion of the questionnaire, you will be given the opportunity to enter into a prize draw to win 500. If you would prefer to complete an online version of this questionnaire, please go to the following web address: By completing this questionnaire you are giving your consent to participate in the survey. In agreeing to participate you can be confident that: Your data will be held in accordance with the UK Data Protection Act (1998) and EU Directive 95/46/EC; Your data will be stored securely and anonymously; Your data will only be used for the stated research purposes.

2 1) 'Animal welfare' can mean different things to different people. In your opinion would you agree or disagree that the following are adequate definitions of animal welfare? Strongly disagree Disagree Neither agree nor disagree Agree Strongly agree Quality of life The ability to express natural behaviour Emotions; how an animal feels The five freedoms (which are freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury and disease; freedom to express normal behaviour; and freedom from fear and distress) How an animal is managed, treated and looked after Physical health, function, fitness and performance/production 2) Do you feel any additional definitions of animal welfare are missing from the above list? If yes, please specify: 3) Out of the six possible definitions of animal welfare listed above - and any additional definitions suggested - which definition do you consider to be the most accurate? (Please select one option). Quality of life The ability to express natural behaviour Emotions; how an animal feels The five freedoms How an animal is managed, treated and looked after Physical health, function, fitness and performance/production

3 4) When assessing the welfare of an individual adult dairy cow, how often do you use each of the following management based criteria? Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always N/A Access to pasture Quality of stockmanship Suitability of the environment (e.g., thermal and physical comfort, space, housing etc.) Stocking rate Cleanliness of the environment Provision of appropriate resources (e.g., feed, water, bedding etc.) 5) When assessing the welfare of an individual adult dairy cow, how often do you use each of the following physical health and appearance based criteria? Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always N/A Locomotion (i.e., mobility, lameness) Coat condition, including hair loss Rumen fill Mortality Body condition score Dung (e.g., colour, consistency etc.) Injuries including skin and limb lesions Hydration status (e.g., skin tent) Mastitis (e.g., somatic cell count, teat/udder tenderness or pain) Cow cleanliness Longevity Disease (excluding mastitis) Body temperature Fertility/reproductive performance (e.g., calving interval, conception rates etc.) Respiratory rate Milk yield Appearance of the eyes Teat and udder condition Heart rate

4 6) When assessing the welfare of an individual adult dairy cow, how often do you use each of the following behaviour based criteria? Never Rarely Sometimes Often Always N/A Feeding behaviour Demeanour (e.g., general mood, attitude, alertness etc.) Aggressive cow-cow interactions Play behaviour Chewing the cud/rumination Posture when lying Oestrous behaviour (e.g., bulling) Rising behaviour Positive cow-cow interactions (e.g., social grooming) Vocalisations Activity levels Response to humans Posture when standing Status within the herd 7) When assessing the welfare of an individual adult dairy cow, do you use any additional criteria to those listed in the 3 tables above? If yes, please specify: 8) When assessing the welfare of the adult dairy herd as a whole, do you use any additional criteria to those listed in the 3 tables above? If yes, please specify:

5 The Royal Veterinary College s research project aims to improve dairy cow welfare assessment by developing succinct assessment protocols. As it is important to ensure these protocols continue to provide us with an accurate picture of welfare, we need to identify and include the most informative welfare assessment criteria, i.e., we wish to identify and include criteria that provide us with an accurate picture of overall welfare as opposed to including criteria that are very specific. 1. Feeding behaviour 2. Demeanour (e.g., general mood, attitude, alertness etc.) 3. Aggressive cow-cow interactions 4. Play behaviour 5. Chewing the cud/rumination 6. Posture when lying 7. Oestrous behaviour (e.g., bulling) 8. Rising behaviour 9. Positive cow-cow interactions (e.g., social grooming) 10. Vocalisations 11. Activity levels 12. Response to humans 13. Posture when standing 14. Status within the herd 15. Access to pasture 16. Quality of stockmanship 17. Suitability of the environment (e.g., thermal and physical comfort, space, housing etc.) 18. Stocking rate 19. Cleanliness of the environment 20. Provision of appropriate resources (e.g., feed, water, bedding etc.) 21. Locomotion (i.e., mobility, lameness) 22. Coat condition, including hair loss 23. Rumen fill 24. Mortality 25. Body condition score 26. Dung (e.g., colour, consistency etc.) 27. Injuries including skin and limb lesions 28. Hydration status (e.g., skin tent) 29. Mastitis (e.g., somatic cell count, teat/udder tenderness or pain) 30. Cow cleanliness 31. Longevity 32. Disease (excluding mastitis) 33. Body temperature 34. Fertility/reproductive performance (e.g., calving interval, conception rates etc.) 35. Respiratory rate 36. Milk yield 37. Appearance of the eyes 38. Teat and udder condition 39. Heart rate 9) In your opinion, out of the 39 assessment criteria listed in the box above, which 5 criteria provide the most accurate picture of overall welfare in an individual adult dairy cow? (Please select 5 options). 1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

6 10) Do you feel there are any additional criteria to those listed in the box above that also provide an accurate picture of overall welfare in an individual adult dairy cow? If yes, please specify: 11) In your opinion, out of the 39 criteria listed in the box above, which 5 criteria provide the most accurate picture of overall welfare in the adult dairy herd as a whole? (Please select 5 options). 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 12) Do you feel there are any additional criteria to those listed in the box above that also provide an accurate picture of overall welfare in the adult dairy herd as a whole? If yes, please specify: The next section asks you for a few personal details. All data collected will be stored securely and anonymously. 13) What is your profession? Dairy farm manager Dairy stockman Cattle vet

7 14) What is your sex? Male Female 15) What is your age? 20 years or under years years years 51 years or over 16) What is your country of residence? England Wales Scotland rthern Ireland 17) How many years of experience do you have working with dairy cows? 5 years or less 6-10 years years years 21 years or more 18) Are you involved with any of the following farm assurance schemes, for example, as an assessor, veterinary advisor or in any other role? (Please select all that apply). I am not involved with any farm assurance schemes Red Tractor Farm Assurance Scheme RSPCA Freedom Food An organic accreditation scheme 19) On average, how many hours per week do you spend observing and/or interacting with dairy cows?

8 20) Have you ever attended a workshop, event, course, lecture and/or discussion group in which you have learnt about or discussed dairy cow welfare assessment? If yes, please give details: 21) How did you hear about this survey? The Royal Veterinary College BVA BCVA Veterinary Times Thank you for completing the survey! If you wish to be entered into a prize draw to win 500 please fill in your address or telephone number below: address: Telephone number (including area code): Completed questionnaires can be returned to Sophie Collins at the Royal Veterinary College by: Post: scollins@rvc.ac.uk Fax: Sophie Collins Centre for Animal Welfare The Royal Veterinary College North Mymms Hertfordshire AL9 7TA The closing date for questionnaire return is 31 st May The winner of the prize draw will be notified by 30 th June If you would like any additional information about the survey, or the Royal Veterinary College s dairy cow welfare assessment project, please contact Sophie Collins at scollins@rvc.ac.uk.