Are regulations addressing farm animal welfare issues during live transportation fit for purpose? A multi-country jurisdictional check

Growing animal welfare concerns have pushed some jurisdictions to strengthen regulations addressing live farm animal transportation, but whether they provide satisfactory levels of protection for animals remains to be shown. Using the recent peer-reviewed literature, we identified four major risk factors associated with live animal transportation (fitness for transport, journey duration, climatic conditions and space allowances) and explored how regulations were structured to prevent animal welfare issues in five English-speaking Western jurisdictions (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the EU and the USA). All legally binding federal regulations were systematically reviewed and compared. Whether these rules were fit for purpose was assessed using the relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature. Our findings indicate the majority of regulations in most jurisdictions are often insufficient or too vague to be deemed fit for purpose. All five jurisdictions fall short in guaranteeing adequate protection to livestock during transport. Using recent changes as well as future policy proposals under discussion, we identify future directions that could form the basis for regulatory changes that may significantly improve the welfare of farm animals during transportation.

Animal Welfare during Transport and Slaughter of Cattle: A Systematic Review of Studies in the European Legal Framework

Literature related to European transport and slaughter processes were included in this systematic review. The publication period is limited to the past twelve years since the European Animal Welfare Transport Regulation was enacted in 2009. Three different databases were used. The final screening resulted in the inclusion of 19 articles in this review. When handling cattle during transport and slaughter, personnel have an important impact and may inflict stress on the animals. Other factors, such as the group composition and health status prior to transport, can have a strong negative effect on animal welfare. At the abattoir, constructional conditions and the resulting environmental influences can have a negative impact on welfare as well. These include increased noise levels due to the lack of noise dampening and changing light conditions. Stress in cattle can be assessed, e.g., by measuring stress hormones or heart rate. Effective stunning is an important welfare-relevant step in the slaughtering process. Some signs of unconsciousness, such as immediate body collapse or absence of the corneal reflex, can be easily assessed. Expertise and continuous training of all personnel involved are important measures in stress reduction.

Transportation of Cattle and Pigs between EU Member States 2014-2018 - Can Data from TRACES be used to Create Overview and Inform about Potential Welfare Consequences?

Animal transport is debated due to welfare concerns. In this paper, data from 2014-2018 on animal transportation between EU member states (MS) (for slaughter, breeding, and production), are evaluated to create basis for discussion of TRACES database as tool to inform about pig and cattle welfare. Approximately 33million pigs were transported between EU MS peryear with considerable changes within categories.The majority of pigs was transported for production (57 to 73%), transportation for slaughter constituted 29% (34 to 25%), and the remaining (2-9%) were transported for breeding. Approximately 4 million cattle was transported peryear. The majority was transported for production (62 to 71%), 15-16% for slaughter, and the rest for breeding (23 to 14%). For each species and purpose category, 10 MS transporting the highest numbers are presented, suggesting acomplex underlying pattern with potential animal welfare consequences. Based on adiscussion of selected examples, however, we suggest that usefulness of TRACES as basis of an informed animal welfare evaluation would improve by including data from relevant animal types in addition to purpose categories.

Welfare of domestic birds and rabbits transported in containers

This opinion, produced upon a request from the European Commission, focuses on transport of domestic birds and rabbits in containers (e.g. any crate, box, receptacle or other rigid structure used for the transport of animals, but not the means of transport itself). It describes and assesses current transport practices in the EU, based on data from literature, Member States and expert opinion. The species and categories of domestic birds assessed were mainly chickens for meat (broilers), end-of-lay hens and day-old chicks. They included to a lesser extent pullets, turkeys, ducks, geese, quails and game birds, due to limited scientific evidence. The opinion focuses on road transport to slaughterhouses or to production sites. For day-old chicks, air transport is also addressed. The relevant stages of transport considered are preparation, loading, journey, arrival and uncrating. Welfare consequences associated with current transport practices were identified for each stage. For loading and uncrating, the highly relevant welfare consequences identified are handling stress, injuries, restriction of movement and sensory overstimulation. For the journey and arrival, injuries, restriction of movement, sensory overstimulation, motion stress, heat stress, cold stress, prolonged hunger and prolonged thirst are identified as highly relevant. For each welfare consequence, animal-based measures (ABMs) and hazards were identified and assessed, and both preventive and corrective or mitigative measures proposed. Recommendations on quantitative criteria to prevent or mitigate welfare consequences are provided for microclimatic conditions, space allowances and journey times for all categories of animals, where scientific evidence and expert opinion support such outcomes.

Managing Animal Welfare in Food Governance in Norway and Sweden: Challenges in Implementation and Coordination

Simple Summary

Animal welfare is an important issue in society, and having a strong animal welfare legislation is per se important. However, in addition to a strong legislation, it is necessary to create a system that can enforce the legislation and to have a public administration in place in order to achieve a coordinated implementation. Both Norway and Sweden have received some criticism for their coordination of animal welfare control efforts. However, they have reacted to this criticism in different ways. Norway has centralised the coordination, making the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA) solely responsible for animal welfare control. Sweden, on the other hand, has instead focused on developing better guidelines to be used by the 21 regional County Administration Boards in order to improve uniformity. In this study, we have compared the Norwegian and Swedish ways of coordinating animal welfare control and identified challenges and relevant organisational preconditions for achieving uniform and consistent compliance. The results show that Sweden’s organisation may need more coordination between multiple organisational units, while Norway has better preconditions for achieving uniformity in animal welfare administration. However, in Norway, the safeguards for the rule of law might be an issue, due to NFSA acting as de facto “inspector”, “prosecutor” and “judge”.

Abstract

A key issue in food governance and public administration is achieving coordinated implementation of policies. This study addressed this issue by systematically comparing the governance of animal welfare in Norway and Sweden, using published papers, reports, and legal and other public information, combined with survey and interview data generated in a larger research project (ANIWEL). Governing animal welfare includes a number of issues that are relevant across different sectors and policy areas, such as ethical aspects, choice of legal tools, compliance mechanisms and achieving uniform control. Based on the challenges identified in coordinating animal welfare in Norway and Sweden, relevant organisational preconditions for achieving uniform and consistent compliance were assessed. The results showed that Sweden’s organisation may need more horizontal coordination, since its animal welfare management is divided between multiple organisational units (Swedish Board of Agriculture, National Food Agency and 21 regional County Administration Boards). Coordination in Norway is managed solely by the governmental agency Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA), which has the full responsibility for inspection and control of food safety, animal health, plant health, as well as animal welfare. Thus, Norway has better preconditions than Sweden for achieving uniformity in animal welfare administration. However, in Norway, the safeguards for the rule of law might be an issue, due to NFSA acting as de facto “inspector”, “prosecutor” and “judge”.

Impact of the Timing of Spay-Neuter Related to Transport on Disease Rates in Relocated Dogs

Companion animal relocation programs are an important method to address geographic and resource disparities in pet overpopulation through transport from areas with high homeless pet populations to areas with high adopter demand. Despite mitigation by following best practices, a potential risk of animal relocation is increased disease incidence related to infectious disease spread and the effects of stress during transport. Surgical sterilization may compound disease risk due to the impact of surgical stress on disease susceptibility and the potential for disease exposure from other patients. Our study aimed to provide information about disease and surgical complication incidence as relates to the timing of surgical sterilization in relocated dogs. A population of 431 dogs relocated to a shelter in Washington State was monitored for disease while at the destination shelter and immediately post-adoption. No increased disease incidence was identified for dogs altered within two weeks of transport at the destination shelter compared with those altered within two weeks prior to transport at the source shelter. Because of disparities addressed by relocation programs, surgical sterilization of relocated companion animals is typically best performed at the destination shelter. Our study indicates that disease incidence is not increased by spay-neuter at the destination shelter.

Housing of Cull Sows in the Hours before Transport to the Abattoir-An Initial Description of Sow Behaviour While Waiting in a Transfer Vehicle

In modern pig production, sows are transported by road to abattoirs. For reasons of biosecurity, commercial trucks may have limited access to farms. According to Danish regulations, sows can be kept in stationary transfer vehicles away from the farm for up to two hours before being loaded onto the commercial truck. We aimed to describe the behaviour of sows in transfer vehicles. This preliminary, exploratory study included data from 11 loads from a total of six Danish sow herds. Selection of animals to be slaughtered was done by the farmers. Clinical registrations were made before collection of the sows, after which they (in groups of 7-13) were mixed and moved to the transfer vehicle (median stocking density: 1.2 sow/m²), and driven a short distance to a public road. The duration of the stays in the transfer vehicles before being loaded onto the commercial trucks ranged from 6-59 min. During this period, the median frequency of aggressive interactions per load was 18 (range: 4-65), whereas the median frequency of lying per load was 1 (range: 0-23). The duration of the stay correlated positively with the frequency of aggressive interactions (r_s = 0.89; n = 11; p < 0.001) and with the frequency of lying (r_s = 0.62; n = 11; p < 0.05). Frequency of aggressive interactions correlated positively with the temperature inside the transfer vehicle (r_s = 0.89; n = 7; p < 0.001). These preliminary results are the first to describe the behaviour of cull sows during waiting in transfer vehicles, and may suggest that this period can be challenging for sow welfare, especially for longer stays and during hot days.