How farm animals 'feel' contributes to productivity
CSIRO is researching ways to improve the welfare of livestock by developing scientific methods for assessing how animals 'feel' in response to common management practices.
The aim is to reduce stress and pain in livestock and increase not only their wellbeing but also their productivity.
鈥淲ith increased public concern about the welfare of animals, and consumers seeking 鈥榓nimal welfare-friendly鈥� products, Australia鈥檚 livestock industries are focused on improving farming practices to meet changing expectations,鈥� CSIRO scientist Dr. Caroline Lee said.
鈥淚t is also internationally recognised that we must quantify not only the biological cost but also the emotional cost of animals used for production of food and fibre.
鈥淭his requires new methods to benchmark the welfare of animals in their on-farm environment.鈥�
The science of objective measurement of animal welfare is relatively new. Current methods largely focus on quantifying biological indicators of stress 鈥� for example, via blood tests that show changes in animals鈥� physiology or immune systems.
Studies of animal behavior have also been used to indicate obvious emotional states such as pain or discomfort, or preferences for different foods. However, all of these studies provide relatively limited information.
鈥淯ntil now the major gap in our ability to assess animal welfare has been our capacity to understand the emotional states of animals in different farming situations, such as in intensive finishing systems or during droughts,鈥� Dr. Lee said.
Based at CSIRO Livestock Industries' research facility near Armidale, NSW, Dr. Lee uses cognitive principles based on human psychological theories to assess animal emotions.
鈥淭he challenge is to gain insights 鈥� in a scientifically rigorous way 鈥� into how animals鈥� minds work,鈥� she said.
鈥淭his will take some time to work through and it is one of key areas of strategic science undertaken by CLI鈥檚 Livestock Welfare Team.
鈥淯ltimately, the outcomes of this research will expand on our understanding of emotional and cognitive functions of livestock and the impacts of farming practices on animal welfare.鈥�
Provided by CSIRO
