Irish inquiries into animal welfare

Vet Times The website for the veterinary profession https://www.vettimes.co.uk Irish inquiries into animal welfare Author : FIONA MCFARLAND Categories : Vets Date : February 24, 2014 FIONA MCFARLAND reports on the discussion topics surrounding the well-being of animals that were held at the North of Ireland Veterinary Association s autumn Welfare Day THE North of Ireland Veterinary Association (NIVA) welcomed excellent attendance at the autumn Welfare Day, held at the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI). The afternoon of informative talks was opened by Nick Bell, lecturer at the RVC. Dr Bell addressed the popular welfare topic of cattle lameness at herd level, which the cattle industry and veterinary profession are becoming more involved in. During recent research, farmers have become much more engaged with the DairyCo Mobility Scoring system, getting much better results. The extent of lameness is much higher than most herd keepers had realised and many herds have reduced incidence from as much as 70 per cent to as little as 16 per cent in one year by using the system. The change to a proactive approach to lameness identification and treatment instead of proactive culling was achieved by the motivation that came with the scoring system on many farms. The idea of preventing lameness rather than treating your way out of a problem is now widely demonstrated on many farms a success in improving cattle welfare. Solar ulcers are at a high when lying times are compromised. This includes both lactating and dry cows, and cow comfort is directly correlated to incidence. Transition cow management and body condition score loss is vital as thin cows are more likely to go lame, as are lame cows more likely to become thin. 1 / 8

Digital dermatitis has to be controlled with daily foot disinfection, herd treatments and improving individual cow cure by looking at individual treatments and addressing yard and environmental hygiene. A take-home message delivered five key control points: foot bathing; cleaner feet through curing infectious disorders; improving lying comfort; improving walkway comfort; and getting to cows more quickly with individual treatments. The question is, How can cattle welfare be improved? The answer remains in keeping cows sound, using mobility scoring to measure the problem and accepting that understanding of cattle lameness has changed and moved to newer approaches and preventive measures. Welfare enforcement The focus of the audience moved to enforcement of farm animal welfare in Northern Ireland (NI) by a talk from Paddy McGuckian, from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. He said we have to realise farm animal welfare is of major political and international interest and the consumer attitude towards it is of paramount importance. An interesting point is the meaning of welfare has not been defined in British law. What is animal welfare? Is it faring well? Do animals have feelings? Is it to do with body or mind and should animals be reared as closely to nature as possible? What do we actually enforce? The newest legislation is the Welfare of Animals Act (NI) 2011. This addresses the meaning of cruelty unnecessary pain, suffering and distress, covering animal abuse, non-accidental injury, bestiality, neglect and pain. We enforce all of this to promote and enhance animal welfare and to send a message that compliance is expected; to seek and achieve compliance and to deter others. Everyone has an opinion on animal welfare and the considered veterinary opinion doesn t always win the day. The animal welfare standard in NI is good 96.7 per cent of farms are compliant. Farm animal welfare may appear complicated, but there are many routes to compliance for farmers. These include encouragement by promoting legislation, education and an economic incentive by a single farm payment dependent on compliance. 2 / 8

The enforcement and prosecution route is only used when all else fails. The message lies in the fact enforcement powers in the legislation are strong and the route to success for the animal, farmer and the industry lies purely in compliance. Enforcement need On a day-to-day basis for the public, there has to be a route to report poor animal welfare. This was highlighted by Clement Kennedy from Omagh District Council, who addressed the practical implementation of government legislation. The need for stronger enforcement was reviewed and implemented in April 2012 when it was given to district councils, which adapted a collaborative approach to the new legislation. The main objective is to assess if the animal is suffering, seek guidance from the contracted veterinarian, seize where needed and take action legally in terms of prosecution if it is deemed necessary. Within the first year from April 2012 to April 2013 5,179 calls and 4,292 cases were dealt with. The majority of cases involved dogs, closely followed by equines. There is no doubt there are many challenges ahead, but the legislation is working well, with positive feedback, and it is making a difference to animal welfare. Ethics versus morals The veterinary profession must consider the difficulty in finding a common position between ethics and morals. David McKervey from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM), discussed what welfare meant to people, from animal lovers to welfare experts. We must consider the spectrum from the Jain monk to those inflicting animal cruelty. There are various examples where animals have shown similar sensitivity to humans the bonobo ape Kanzi in particular, not to mention Alex the parrot, the subject of intelligence experiments by animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg. This may seem abstract, but when you consider sheep have significant human facial recognition we cannot forget there may be more beneath the surface than we realise in terms of a similar level of emotional feeling. We were encouraged to consider how we could make progress in terms of animal welfare. This has to involve legislation, groups that promote the public perception and an economic incentive to producers and retailers. In conclusion, we were reminded we took an oath stating our constant endeavour will be to ensure 3 / 8

the health and welfare of animals committed to our care. It has to remain the duty of the profession to use our professional ability to assess and advise, with the clear aim to constantly improve animal welfare. The humanity to respect the needs of animals and our courage to remain focused on the objective is what holds us together as a professional body. This is something NIVA would like to make everyone aware of. Our eyes and minds are once again opened to a current and volatile subject. Acknowledgement Thanks to Danske Bank and Provita Animal Health sponsors of the event. 4 / 8

The Welfare Day audience. Speakers and sponsors (from left): John Denning, Danske Bank; Nick Bell; David McKervey, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM); Sandra Dunbar, NIVA senior vicepresident; Paddy McGuckian, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD); and Tommy Armstrong, Provita Animal Health. 5 / 8

Sandra Dunbar opens the afternoon session. 6 / 8

From left: Barclay Bell, Ulster Farmers Union (UFU); Bert Houston, chief veterinary officer NI; Sandra Dunbar, NIVA senior vicepresident; and Edward Adamson, National Sheep Association (NSA). 7 / 8