Overview
Researchers talk animal welfare
This is a series of interviews with experts from Wageningen University & Research about research into the welfare of animals. We give the stage to: cows, pigs, chickens, fish, ducks, goats, rabbits, cats and dogs.
Cow welfare
Cows radiate tranquillity but are also very inquisitive animals
“Cows are pleasant animals to be around. They radiate tranquillity, but can also be very curious. Some come up to you, while others prefer to stay at a distance.”
“Originally, I am a veterinarian and cattle have always been my preference. Now I am no longer a practising vet, but I still use that knowledge in my daily work. For me, animal welfare and health are one. Good welfare is a very important factor for preventive health and resilience. When you meet the animal's needs, animals are much more self-reliant. Welfare is so important, with that you also support the cow in staying healthy.”
“At the Animal Sciences Group at WUR, we mainly look at the interaction and needs of animals. We have done a lot of research into cow comfort, such as floor space, bedding and walking floors. Aiming for cow comfort is directly in line with welfare. Paying attention to characteristics of animals so they can stay healthy. My research shows that cows like regularity. They like to have a fixed day/night rhythm. These fixed patterns help with expectations. This involves working in time blocks, so a block to eat, then a block to rest, ruminate etc. They like to conduct these behaviours as a herd or in groups. Therefore, it is important that all cows have space to lie down or eat. Occupancy should be 100% so that everyone can perform the behaviour at the same time. Ideally, you actually want it to be above 100% so that there is still a free choice. Otherwise, this can also create stress. These behaviours can then be monitored with sensors. With those sensors, you get early insight into whether the cows' behaviour deviates from their synchronised rhythm.”
“Claw health is very important. We are now conducting studies on lameness. Cameras and techniques can detect abnormal walking at an earlier stage. These could be placed at the exit of milking parlours, for example. More grazing and free-range barns with straw or sand result in less lameness.”
“But cow comfort also has many snags. Free-range barns promote cow comfort, but how do you deal with the manure? Grazing improves welfare, but has the disadvantage of heat stress. People often do not know that heat stress can occur as early as at 17 degrees. It is then necessary to adapt your management, such as allowing the cows to graze at night and keeping them inside during the day, having ventilation in the barns and targeted cooling of the cows. Modern barns are well adapted to this to provide better comfort during heat. The most important thing in this issue is to give the animals a choice. On many farms, cows already have a free choice.”
“WUR has contributed to the awareness of livestock farmers of cow welfare, through many projects. We notice that farmers take our advice and are making adjustments in their cow management and adaptations to grazing. That is great to see!”
Pig welfare
Pigs have highly developed social skills and provide each other with social support
“During my study I started observing pigs and I was immediately hooked. Pigs are highly intelligent and expressive animals. They are inquisitive and like to interact with people. My PhD research revealed that pigs have distinct personalities, with some individuals being more outgoing than others. The social life of pigs is very interesting. Pigs have highly developed social skills and provide each other with social support. Their sense of smell is extraordinary and even exceeds that of dogs. That is fascinating. There is still so much to learn about how pigs use their senses for communication.”
“Pigs are studied by many WUR colleagues, such as geneticists and animal nutritionists. My focus is on pig behaviour, which includes social interaction, cognition and emotions. There is a shift in attention from solely minimizing negative events towards promoting positive emotional experiences. But how can we measure these? We try to develop novel, non-invasive ways to do so. For instance, we study body language and temperature changes in the face as potential indicators of positive affective states. Further exploring facial expressions of pigs is on our wish list too. We are also interested in the wider implications of positive experiences. An enriched environment is important for pig welfare, but we found that it also increases resilience to stressors and even to an infection. So is a happy pig also a healthy pig? That’s what we would like to find out.”
“Our role is to provide the biological knowledge needed to develop welfare friendly systems. For instance, we would like to move towards systems without farrowing crates for sows, but this may increase piglet crushing. We try to solve this dilemma by studying maternal behaviour. Genetics, behaviour and physiology all play a role here. Piglets have elaborate interactions with their mother and also learn a lot from her, including feed preferences. They prefer to eat with their mother, even if their own feed is more palatable and digestible. It is a social aspect: what mom eats, is safe.”
“Pig welfare research at WUR has yielded a wealth of knowledge. This has changed our view on pigs and how we should treat them. Knowledge provided by us and others has influenced policy, legislation and has helped to develop science-based welfare labels. Insights from our studies can partly be applied in current husbandry systems and have led to improved pig welfare. However, full application would only be possible in systems in which all behavioural needs of pigs can be met. Keeping all pigs under such optimal conditions, even though I would like to, will not happen before I retire. Until then, through our research, I want to support future changes towards animal-centred livestock farming systems, inspired by the natural behaviour of pigs.”
Chicken welfare
Chickens are much smarter than most people think
"Chickens are surprisingly fun animals. They are so much smarter than most people think. You can easily teach them tasks, such as pecking on something or opening a door. Especially if a tasty reward is in sight. Chickens also use lots of different kinds of sounds to communicate. And they are interesting to study because of their wide range of behaviour; from foraging for food to discovering new surroundings."
"In the past, our research mostly focused on preventing problems, such as injuries and stress. We issued a lot of advice on that. The focus is now shifting to the animal's preferences. The challenge is to properly measure when chickens are having fun. For instance, it’s a sign if they show playful behaviour when we place enrichment such as straw bales, perches and dust baths. But we then also want to know if they actually feel happy. Of course, you then still need to be able to measure those kinds of indicators properly and easily at a farm; cameras and sensors help with this.”
"Another good example of a project I am currently working on has to do with light perception. Did you know that chickens can also see UV light, and they see more in the red and the green-blue spectrum than humans? We study light intensity, colour, UV enrichment and combinations. What type of light does a chicken choose? Broiler chickens in the trial are more likely to walk to a lighter area to forage and darker to rest. So then you could need zones, which current housing does not have. And those preferences may differ by breed and age, and between individuals."
"Based on these kinds of results, we give advice and develop tools that farmers, housing and equipment designers and other stakeholders can apply. We also help test innovations applied in practice. For example, my colleagues are now testing a dustbathhouse; a separate area in the barn where chickens can dust bath to their heart's content in a cleaner environment."
"We keep searching how to accommodate animal welfare as best as possible. All from the animal’s perspective: what does the chicken want, what kind of behaviour does it show? That’s our main focus."
Fish welfare
Fish can differ more from each other than a human from a frog
“The interesting thing about fish is that they can be more different from each other than a human is from a frog. There is great diversity, one species has blood with antifreeze proteins while another species like Crucian carp can live for some time in oxygen-deprived water due to their specialised metabolism. This diversity makes fish so fascinating to me."
“In the past, fish were thought to be reflex machines. When I started my first fish welfare project in 1993, it was looked at oddly. It’s only in the last two decades that scientists have increasingly been thinking differently about it. Studies now show that in fish brains structures are present which play a role in, for instance, memory and fear.”
“How we can find out what fish want? A good way is to see if they are willing to work for something. For instance, in a study done with tilapia in Portugal, males managed to open a transparent door with weights attached to it to get to a part of the tank with a female in it. With these sort of tests, you can find indicators of fish welfare."
"There’s growing attention for this topic. For example, ASC, the owner of the label for farmed fish asked me to take part in a working group to provide them with fish welfare criteria for their standards. In the coming years, consumers will be able to make an informed choice when they buy a farmed fish product.”
“Another development is the launch of the global Catch Welfare Platform last year, which I coordinate. We focus on promoting welfare during capture and handling methods to minimise damage to and stress in the animals. Improved handling leads to better product quality and increased survival of fish that are released into the sea. This shows that good catch welfare and sustainability of fisheries complement one another."
“One of the targets in this project was recruiting 35 participants from seafood-related industries. At the launch 61 participants were involved from 5 continents and 20 countries, as well as over 60 participants from research, NGOs, and government. We work on practical solutions to improve fish welfare, provide fishers who improve welfare with incentives, and share knowledge. We are really doing this as a team."
"Wageningen scientists explore feelings fish have and how to adjust catch and cultivation accordingly. Fortunately, this is often a win-win situation. Careful handling of fish means a better-quality product as well as improved fish welfare."
Duck welfare
Pekin ducks need open water to keep themselves clean
“We all know the tiny, yellow ducklings that float along behind their mothers in spring. The mallard is a beautiful animal, especially the male with its green head and white ring around the neck. It looks like a strong and well-balanced animal that can survive in many places, even in the most unsightly waters.”
“A big difference from its ancestor the mallard is that the domesticated Pekin duck is all white. It is kept for meat and as a result, with 3.5 kg, this animal is over 2 kg heavier than its ancestor at adult age.”
“In the 1990s, a lot of research was done on husbandry systems for Pekin ducks. They were partly kept outdoors, but stricter environmental regulations meant the ducks had to go indoors. The full indoor housing system posed new challenges for keeping Pekin ducks. Around this time, animal welfare and water supply became more important. Mallards are aquatic birds and swim and forage in water by dabbling the beak along water (In Dutch: snebberen). Ducks also spend considerable time preening to keep themselves clean, and for this they need water. However, Pekin ducks only get water from nipple drinkers which does not meet the natural foraging and preening behaviours.”
“WUR carried out research to test the water preference of Pekin ducks. They could choose between nipple drinkers, shallow open water and deep open water. Shallow and deep water was highly preferred. Access to open water led to an increase in preening, compared with nipple drinkers. Dipping and wetting the head and neck is the least they need, to be able to perform wet-preening activities to keep themselves clean. This is perhaps the most important indicator of a duck's welfare: if the eyes, nostrils, plumage, and legs are dirty the welfare of the ducks is at stake. A disadvantage of open water is that it can lead to hygiene problems and an increased volume of manure. To make it feasible, it is recommended that open water will be provided above a slatted floor.”
“In the Netherlands, Pekin ducks are kept in a relatively low stocking density and have a flooring of straw. WUR has contributed to this type of housing. The straw partly replaces the need for water with regard to foraging behaviour. As a result, there are no problems with feather pecking and beaks are not trimmed. WUR has gathered a lot of knowledge on the water issue. Unfortunately, in practice little is done with this knowledge. Much of the meat produced here goes abroad, which makes it difficult to make improvements. There are no EU regulations, although there is a recommendation about wet-preening.”
“The next step is to develop an appropriate open water system, meeting requirements of both ducks and duck farmers. It is recommended to include the cleanliness of eyes, nostrils and feathers in a welfare monitor for ducks, as this provides important information for the farmer to optimize the water system and related management.”
Goat welfare
Goats are curious and brave animals
"Goats are curious and brave animals, who step right up to you. They are known for their need to explore and nibble. It is important to offer goats solid housing, as they wreck everything. They have a knack for challenging people. Your trousers, jacket or fingers are not safe. It is also definitely advisable to leave your papers outside the barn during research.”
“It is partly for this reason that it is common practice to de-horn dairy goats. However, it is an intervention that affects the integrity of the animal. And they possibly perform an important function. Horns are useful tools in determining rank. Whether dehorned goats lack social needs is a research question. Is a horned goat more positive? And can the animal exhibit more natural behaviour where there is a need? These are questions that fit in with the pursuit of animal welfare.”
“We are currently completing further development of a more animal-focused welfare monitor. This also links directly to the drive for animal welfare in livestock farming. The current welfare monitor assesses the situation based on measures that potentially contribute to welfare, such as barn area. With a more animal-focused welfare monitor, we read welfare from the animal itself. What is welfare for a goat? It is not just good nutrition and health. To find out, we are working on indicators, such as smooth gaits and intact skin, that can help determine goat welfare."
"We are also looking at housing and barn designs with the end goal of adapting the systems to the goats' needs. Current housing systems in regular farms are potting pens with straw and a feed fence, where goats have no possibility of grazing. Goats hate bad weather, are susceptible to parasites and in addition they are masters of escape.”
“WUR also conducts other studies on goat welfare. One example is using predictive models to mark the right goats for breeding or extended lactation. Extended lactation is continuing to milk the goat instead of making her lamb every year. This means (increasingly) fewer goats need to lamb and skipping the transition period, which is often times risky. We are also researching colostrum management. Does a higher intake in lambs have a positive effect such as fewer health problems or better growth in the first 12 weeks after birth?”
“The great thing about this sector is that they spot the problems and come to us for research. That mindset is really progressive. They grab the problems by the horns, as I like to say.”
Rabbit welfare
Rabbits need space to perform natural behaviour, such as hopping
“Rabbits are really pleasant and relaxed animals. An interesting aspect is that you can find them in many roles. In the wild, as pets and more.”
“We know a lot about the needs of animals. Meeting these needs in housing and care is essential to maintain good welfare. Needs can be split up as essential ones, such as good nutrition, climatic comfort, safety and ample space to perform natural behaviour. Additionally, there are behaviours that can add pleasure, such as room to hop and play - especially for young rabbits. The possibility to perform social behaviour is an essential aspect of most of our companion and farm animals, not in the least for rabbits. So housing them on their own is not ideal.”
“Rabbits are in the top three of the most kept pets in the Netherlands, more than a million in a recent estimate. Rabbits are also kept for meat production. In our country, about 35 farms foster an average of about 1,500 rabbit does with their young. Good to know is that these rabbits now have considerable better living conditions compared to the rest of the world. There is a story behind this. Due to a long term collaboration between farmers, the ministry and Wageningen researchers, al lot has changed in husbandry conditions.”
“To start with, another type of flooring for better paw health was developed. It was widely introduced in the Netherlands and later throughout Europe. Thereafter, we joined the industry in developing a cage with several welfare directed improvements. For example more height, and an elevated platform for does to rest. This welfare cage is now the minimal requirement in our country. The improvement that followed this is called park housing, in which rabbits have at least two metres of pen length to be able to hop around. Although not mandatory, most Dutch farms meet these conditions. We helped farmers further develop and evaluate this system.”
“There is an extra step farmers can take: group housing. Once the young are out of the nest, several does and their young are grouped together to better meet the animals’ social needs. Initially, there are fights for social hierarchy, which requires extra care and attention. Recognition of this way of housing with the ‘Beter Leven’ label by the animal protection organisation (Dierenbescherming) helps overcome hurdles. Together with colleagues, we advised on the criteria for this label, and helped reduce problems in the system. That’s something to be proud of. Although it does require a willingness of supermarkets and consumers to make the switch.”
“The Dutch rabbit sector is really small, and faces large challenges. Thirty years of good collaboration between sector, government and our researchers has drastically improved rabbit welfare. This provides openings to the future, and Wageningen is eager to be partner in the further developments for humane livestock farming (dierwaardige veehouderij)!”
Cat welfare
The cat is a true predator disguised as a cute animal
"The cat is a true predator disguised as a wonderfully soft and charming animal. One moment they are loudly purring on your lap, the next moment the sound of a blowfly incites them to hunt fanatically. Cats charm us with two types of purrs: one is at a somewhat lower frequency and indicates contentment, whereas the other is more intense with a high pitch. This high pitch is perceived by humans as more urgent and less pleasant; it prompts us to give more care and attention. Characteristics of this predator go beyond hunting instinct, keen hearing, athletic build and sharp nails and teeth. Its digestive physiology and metabolism are also adapted to this nature. Signs of this can also be seen in cat food; it is high in protein and also contains taurine."
"Over 40% of domestic cats are overweight, some of them even suffer from obesity. This has serious health consequences and reduces welfare and longevity. Obesity, like in humans, puts extra strain on the joints and increases the risk of chronic inflammation and cancer. In addition, natural behaviours such as jumping and grooming can also be expressed less well if the cat is considerably overweight."
"WUR performs research on cat nutrition, such as determining nutritional value of food, stimulating satiety and understanding the importance of the structure of food. Insights from our research can help cat food producers. In the 80s, many studies on the nutritional needs of cats were performed worldwide. A lot of knowledge was gathered about which and how much of the building blocks of protein (amino acids) a cat requires. This knowledge is still used today to make balanced cat foods.”
“We would like to understand cat nutrition even better. For this, research on the cat’s physiology and biology is important. For example, we know that catching a mouse is instinct whereas eating it is learned behaviour, often copied from the mother. But how do the digestive and metabolic processes look when a cat consumes a mouse? And how are these different from a cat eating kibbles? Surprisingly, we don't know this.
"The age record of the wildcat has been estimated at 10 years. With proper care and some luck, domestic cats commonly reach an age of 15 years and above. The Guinness World Record is even 38 years. As an owner, it is important to know what the optimal body condition is for a cat. This allows you to adjust the amount of food to keep your cat at a healthy weight."
Dog welfare
The special thing about dogs is that they understand people really well
"The special thing about dogs is that they are very good at understanding people. Dogs that live with humans sometimes understand and recognise our behaviour even better than the behaviour of other dogs. It is a species that has lived with humans for centuries. This makes it possible to study the influence of domestication and socialisation on what dogs can understand. Domestication is a long process by which a wild species slowly becomes adapted to living with humans. For a long time, dogs were thought to be so focused on humans as a 'by-product' of domestication. Nowadays, researchers believe that dogs have inherited the social traits of the wolf, but can apply them to humans through socialisation. Socialisation is a process by which an individual adapts to its environment and gets used to certain situations. It is quite possible that dogs become easily socialised with human situations and behaviours through domestication, and so there is an interplay between the two processes."
"WUR is currently doing research on social cognitive skills of dogs. We investigate how much they understand about human behaviour and how dogs solve (social) problems. In the past, we have also researched the ways people interact with dogs. That research showed that people can have certain 'parenting styles' with their dogs, like parents have with children. For example, people who value their dog's wishes often train with rewards, while authoritarian owners often train with corrections. We now include this information in our research on social cognition to test whether the method of training, the bond with the owner, the dog's character or other factors influence how much a dog understands.“
"Research into dog behaviour and cognition is very important to learn more about what a dog needs to be happy. Dogs have certain basic needs, like food and sleep. But a dog also needs physical and mental challenges. Going for a walk three times a day is often not enough. When the dog and owner do activities or play together, it strengthens their bond. And a better bond with the owner improves the dog's mental state.”
“Ultimately, it's about expectations, from both sides. When owners know what to expect from their dog it prevents both overestimation and disappointment. And when dogs know what to expect from their owners it reduces stress and frustration. It can be frustrating for the dog when expectations are not met or when a behaviour gets a different response every time."
"Thorough research into what dogs understand about us can in turn help us understand them better. This benefits both the dog and the owner, and contributes to a harmonious society, where dogs are often present in large numbers. This research also provides valuable insights into the effects of socialisation and domestication on other animals living among humans."