Animal Care and Welfare Lecture 3

Lecture 3: Animal Care and Welfare

• Lecture covers animal care and welfare, comparing European and Indigenous perspectives with Canadian perspectives.

Today's Topics

• Introduce welfare practices for beef, sheep, and goats.
• Define and compare European vs. Canadian welfare standards.
• Define Indigenous concept of animal personhood and animals as ancestors.

Learning Objectives

• Compare and contrast animal welfare principles.
• Apply animal welfare principles to develop safe animal handling and housing procedures.

General Welfare Practices

• Housing and environment: Shelter, fencing, space, appropriate environment.
• Nutrition: Balanced diet, varied nutritional needs, fresh water.
• Healthcare: Routine checkups, hygiene, hoof care, parasite control, vaccinations.
• Behaviour and welfare: Flocking, isolation, handling techniques, proper training.

Housing and Environment Details

• Shelter protects from rain & extreme weather (cold, hot, wind).
• Well-ventilated & dry environment.
• Sufficient fencing for predator protection & to prevent escapes (goats).
• Adequate space prevents stress & injury, avoids overcrowding.
• Goats need climbing space and environments.

Nutrition Details

• Balanced diet crucial with forage (grass, hay), grains, and minerals.
• Body score monitoring for diet adjustments.
• Nutritional needs vary with animal age and stage.
• Fresh, drinkable water always available.

Health Care Details

• Regular veterinary checkups for vaccinations, parasite control, health monitoring.
• Clean living conditions to prevent disease spread (cleaning feeding and water equipment).
• Hoof trimming prevents infections (footrot) & lameness.
• Deworming program necessary to control parasites.
• Vaccinations scheduled to maintain protection.

Behaviour and Welfare Details

• Animals are social and should remain in groups (flocking, goats specifically).
• Isolation may lead to stress and behavioural problems.
• Low-stress handling techniques and appropriate training for handlers.

European Welfare Standards (Five Freedoms)

• Freedom from hunger & thirst: Fresh water & suitable diet.
• Freedom from discomfort: Suitable living environment & bedding.
• Freedom from pain, injury, & disease: Prevention and veterinary care.
• Freedom to express normal behaviour: Allowing social interactions and movement.
• Freedom from fear & distress: Gentle handling.

Canadian Welfare Standards

• Combination of federal, provincial, & territorial regulations.
• Specific code of practice available at a website address (provided).

Indigenous Concept of Animal Personhood

• Complex concept, highlighting a deep and respectful relationship.
• Animals are viewed as sentient beings with their own identities, rights, and roles.
• Value placed on life in all forms within the natural world.

Indigenous Concept of Animals as Kin

• Animals viewed as relatives or kin in Indigenous culture.
• Recognizes respect and obligation towards animals, their role, and life within the ecosystem.

Cold Stress in Sheep

• Mature sheep in proper condition with access to feed, water, & shelter can withstand cold.
• Young, shorn, or compromised sheep more susceptible to hypothermia.
• Sheep in a cold condition: face away from wind, seek shelter, huddle, shift positions, shiver.

Wind & Cold Conditions Affecting Sheep Welfare

• Wind combined with cold & wet conditions compromise sheep welfare.
• Wet conditions reduce fleece insulation.
• Wind chill negatively impacts the effective temperature & can cause hypothermia.

Action for Sheep in Cold Conditions

• Relocate to a sheltered area.
• More feed.
• Extra bedding.
• Manage shearing events (delay during bad weather).
• Manage air circulation, dust, CO2, temperature, humidity, and ammonia concentrations.

Social Environment of Sheep

• Social animals, flock behaviour for protection from predators.
• Strong social bond between dam and lambs, intact until separation.
• Subgroups form within flocks.
• Recognize faces and interpret emotional cues.
• Fighting and establishing hierarchy more in single-sex, single-age groups.
• Visual contact crucial to avoid isolation stress.

Lighting and Sheep

• Seasonal animals, sensitive to photoperiod.
• Appropriate rest period from artificial lighting, but not continuous darkness.
• Prefer areas moving from darker areas to lighter ones, shadows can be disruptive.

Nutrition and Feed Management

• Farm husbandry & management significantly influence body condition and sheep welfare.
• Emaciation and obesity negatively impact health & welfare.
• Ewe condition crucial to lamb development and survival.
• Obesity, especially during pregnancy, can lead to complications.
• Condition scoring most applicable to mature animals.
• Feeding space affected by feed type, frequency, horned animals, size & group size.