Prevalence of Potential Indicators of Welfare Status in Young Calves at Meat Processing Premises in New Zealand.

ABSTRACT: In New Zealand, over two million dairy calves between four and seven days of age are sent to meat processing premises every year. There is a need to develop protocols for holistically assessing the welfare of calves sent to slaughter in the first week of life. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of potential animal-based indicators of the welfare state in bobby calves in lairage. The study observed calves in lairage between June and October 2016. Data collection involved assessing groups of calves in pens followed by non-invasive measurements on up to five calves within each pen. We made 23 visits to 12 meat processing premises with group-level observations made on 5910 calves in 102 pens, followed by a non-invasive examination of 504 calves. During the group level observations, n

SUBMITTER: Palmer AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8388627 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature