Nutrition and the Welfare of Farm Animals PDF
Preview Nutrition and the Welfare of Farm Animals
Animal Welfare Clive J.C. Phillips Editor Nutrition and the Welfare of Farm Animals Animal Welfare Volume 16 SeriesEditor ProfessorClivePhillips FoundationChairofAnimalWelfare CentreforAnimalWelfareandEthics SchoolofVeterinaryScience UniversityofQueensland Gatton4343,QLD Australia More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/5675 Clive J.C. Phillips Editor Nutrition and the Welfare of Farm Animals Editor CliveJ.C.Phillips CentreforAnimalWelfareandEthics UniversityofQueensland Gatton,Australia ISSN1572-7408 AnimalWelfare ISBN978-3-319-27354-9 ISBN978-3-319-27356-3 (eBook) DOI10.1007/978-3-319-27356-3 LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2016933444 ©SpringerInternationalPublishingSwitzerland2016 Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpartof the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilarmethodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexempt fromtherelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse. Thepublisher,theauthorsandtheeditorsaresafetoassumethattheadviceandinformationinthis book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade. Printedonacid-freepaper ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbySpringerNature TheregisteredcompanyisSpringerInternationalPublishingAGSwitzerland This book is dedicated to the memory of DavidE.Beever,whoformanyyearstoiledto improve the feeding of dairy cows and who sadly passed away on 16 June 2014. ThiSisaFMBlankPage Preface Adequate nutrition is something that most of us take for granted. Yet, millions of farmanimalsfacewelfareandproductionproblemsbecausewe,eitherwittinglyor unwittingly,exposethemtofoodshortages.Rangelandlivestockhavetocopewith diminishedfoodsuppliesduringdroughtandflood;chickensandpigsaredeprived ofadequatefoodforperiodsduringtheirproductioncycle;anddairycowsalmost invariably suffer inadequate food supplies in early lactation to meet their very considerableenergyrequirements.Insomecases,inadequateplanningforextreme weather or the provision of unsuitable feeds renders farm animal production both inefficientandunproductive,aswellashavingmajoradverseeffectsonthewelfare of the animals concerned. In extensive production systems, livestock owners are often inclined to keep as many animals as possible even if those cannot be fed adequately.Betterqualityandquantityoffeedtoenabletheanimalstogrowtotheir potentialwouldimproveboththeirwelfareandtheprofitabilityoftheenterprise. Thisdocumentisdividedinto11chapters,eachofwhichfocusesonadifferent aspect of the interaction between nutrition and welfare, with emphasis on the provision of recommendations on how to alleviate nutritional and welfare prob- lems. Welfare is perceived by animals through emotions, and the emotion most closely associated with nutrition, that of hunger, is given detailed consideration, particularlyinrelationtopigsandpoultryfedrestricteddiets. Starvationiscommonlyperceivedtobeanunacceptablelevelofmalnutrition,in which the animal’s function is severely compromised and hence its welfare. It results from aneven longer period offeed restrictionthan that causing hunger.In this book, it is considered particularly in relation to rangeland cattle and sheep, whicharefrequentlyexposedtoreducedfeedlevelsasaresultofclimaticvariation. Herbivores in extensive systems face temporal and spatial variation in the avail- abilityandqualityoffoodandwater,thechemicalandmorphologicaldefencesof plants,thermalstress,disease,predation,andcompetition.Manyofthechallenges herbivores face in extensive systems derive from the variability and unpredictability of the environment. Nutrient imbalances and natural toxins are alsoofgreaterimportancethanforlivestockunderintensivemanagementsystems. vii viii Preface Ruminant livestock are most often kept on marginal lands, with significant variationinfeedsupplyandvulnerabilitytoclimatechange.Theyshowremarkable behavioural adaptability, not only for sward composition and height, but also for hot and cold environments, as well as enduring long periods foraging to find suitablepasture.However,underrangelandconditions,poornutritionisthebiggest welfareissuethatlivestockareconfrontedwith,accordingtoanAustraliansurvey (Phillips et al. 2009). Undernutrition is therefore the biggest welfare problem for large numbers of stock. Advance preparation and low stocking rates will help farmers manage drought on rangelands, but it is anticipated that starvation in ruminant livestock will increase in future as a result of anthropogenic climate changeandashortageofenergycropstoprovidefeedsupplements. Theproblemsassociatedwithshort-termfooddeprivationarealsoconsideredin this book, particularly in the stressful conditions of animal transport, which has profound implications for vulnerable classes of livestock, such as calves. Feeding behaviour can be used as a tool to detect or prevent short-term problems. For example, automatic feeders can be used to detect changes in the feeding patterns ofindividualanimalsinagroup,andthesechangesinturncanbeusedtoidentify health problems, often before clinical symptoms are present. Appropriate feeder design can improve animal welfare by eliminating competition between animals. Competitionleadstounevendistributionofthefeedbetweenanimalsinagroup,in whichthelowerrankingindividualsloseout. Provision of roughage is essential for ruminant livestock, but it is increasingly evident that it is also beneficial for monogastrics. Provision of roughage or fibre may in part alleviate hunger and reduce aggression in gestating sows and broiler breeders, may prevent the development of outbreaks of feather pecking in laying hens, and can provide environmental stimulation for growing pigs. Establishing a natural nutritional behavioural pattern in farm animals may be used to improve welfareaswellasproductivity.Forexample,post-weaningstressinpigletsmaybe reduced by utilizing the innate curiosityand sensorymodalities of this species,to theanimals’advantage. Diseases associated with malnutrition are given careful attention, arising both from specific nutrient deficiencies and from immunosuppression as a result of restrictedmacronutrientintake.Goodnutritioncanminimizetissuedamage(from nutrient deficiencies or excesses) and ensure an optimal immune system activity. Thishelpstoensurefreedomfromdisease(infectiousorparasitic),butinflamma- toryresponsesshouldalsobekepttoaminimumbyavoidingenergyexcessesand digestive disorders and by supplying specific compounds (omega-3 PUFA, CLA PUFA,antioxidants,etc.). Throughout,itisrecognizedthatearlydetectionofwelfareproblemsisakeyto successfullycontrollingtheirimpact,particularlyonanimalproduction,usingtools such as regular observation of animal behaviour and condition. However, some- times this is not possible such as when disasters occur, including earthquakes, floods,andwars.Wearealltooawareofthesecalamitiesinrelationtotheireffects onhumans,butwerarelyconsiderthatfarmanimalswillbealsoseverelyaffected, and inparticulartheir feed and water supply. Theemergency provision offeed to Preface ix animals in such situations is considered, and a chapter is devoted to provision of water, a key nutrient, to farm animals, since its deprivation, often in the extreme situationsreferredtoabove,resultsinlossoflifefasterthanfromanyothernutrient deficiency. This publication derives from an Expert Meeting co-ordinated by Harinder Makkar on the impact of nutrition on animal welfare, which took place in FAO Headquarters in Rome on 26–30 September 2011. The objectives of the meeting weretoassessthecurrentstateofknowledgeoftheinfluenceofnutritionofanimals on their welfare and to identify feeding options for different livestock production systemsthatimproveanimalwelfare,whileincreasingprofitabilityofthelivestock producersandensuringsafetyandqualitythroughthefoodchains.Themeetingwas attended by 11 leading scientists in the field, and a report from the meeting is available at http://www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3148e/i3148e00.pdf. A document containing case studies on enhancing animal welfare and farmer income through strategicanimalfeedingalsoemergedfromthismeetingandisavailableathttp:// www.fao.org/docrep/017/i3164e/i3164e00.pdf. Ihopethatthisbook willstimulateresearchers,teachers, governmentofficials, international organization officers, donors, extension workers, veterinarians, and farmerstoconsidertheimportantrolethatnutritionhastoplayinthewelfareand productivityoffarmanimals. Gatton,Australia CliveJ.C.Phillips Reference PhillipsCJC,WojciechowskaJ,MengJ,CrossN(2009)Perceptionsoftheimportanceofdifferent welfareissuesinlivestockproductioninAustralia.Animal3:1152–1166
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