The Library
A systematic review of animal based indicators of sheep welfare on farm, at market and during transport, and qualitative appraisal of their validity and feasibility for use in UK abattoirs
Tools
Tools
Tools
Llonch, Pol, King, Elisabeth M., Clarke, Kenneth A., Downes, J. M. and Green, Laura E. (2015) A systematic review of animal based indicators of sheep welfare on farm, at market and during transport, and qualitative appraisal of their validity and feasibility for use in UK abattoirs. The Veterinary Journal, 206 (3). pp. 289-297. doi:10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.019 ISSN 1090-0233.
|
PDF
WRAP_0380721-lf-261015-systematic_review_sheep_2015_final_version.pdf - Accepted Version - Requires a PDF viewer. Download (618Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.019
Abstract
In the UK, it has been suggested that abattoirs are ideal locations to assess the welfare of sheep as most are slaughtered at abattoirs either as finished lambs or cull ewes. Data from abattoirs could provide benchmarks for welfare indicators at a national level, as well as demonstrating how these change over time. Additionally, feedback could be provided to farmers and regulatory authorities to help improve welfare and identify high or low standards for quality assurance or risk-based inspections. A systematic review of the scientific literature was conducted, which identified 48 animal-based indicators of sheep welfare that were categorised by the Five Freedoms. Their validity as measures of welfare and feasibility for use in abattoirs were evaluated as potential measures of prior sheep welfare on the farm of origin, at market, or during transportation to the abattoir.
A total of 19 indicators were considered valid, of which nine were considered theoretically feasible for assessing sheep welfare at abattoirs; these were body cleanliness, carcass bruising, diarrhoea, skin lesions, skin irritation, castration, ear notching, tail docking and animals recorded as ‘obviously sick’. Further investigation of these indicators is required to test their reliability and repeatability in abattoirs. Novel welfare indicators are needed to assess short-term hunger and thirst, prior normal behaviour and long-term fear and distress.
| Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subjects: | S Agriculture > SF Animal culture | ||||||||
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- ) | ||||||||
| Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Slaughtering and slaughter-houses, Animal welfare | ||||||||
| Journal or Publication Title: | The Veterinary Journal | ||||||||
| Publisher: | Elsevier Ltd | ||||||||
| ISSN: | 1090-0233 | ||||||||
| Official Date: | December 2015 | ||||||||
| Dates: |
|
||||||||
| Volume: | 206 | ||||||||
| Number: | 3 | ||||||||
| Page Range: | pp. 289-297 | ||||||||
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.10.019 | ||||||||
| Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
| Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
| Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant deposit: | 31 December 2015 | ||||||||
| Date of first compliant Open Access: | 22 October 2016 | ||||||||
| Funder: | Great Britain. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) |
Request changes or add full text files to a record
Repository staff actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
