2023-08-25 06:04:34
At the company Agrovet Market explained that there are costs associated with improving animal welfarewhich depend on factors such as «the production system, the available technology and the difference between the reference standard and the desired standard».
The article added that while there are different studies that have sought to quantify these costs (for poultry, pigs or dairy cows in EU countries, or for laying hens in the US), the “data should be taken with care when be very specific about their context and that their estimates involve a high level of uncertainty.
«Despite this, we can rescue that, in general, production costs can exceed up to 40% for farms that prioritize animal welfare. This does not mean that we should maximize animal welfare to the detriment of the company’s competitiveness, but rather take it as a way of rationally limiting investment in this aspect,” they specified.
The five freedoms of animal welfare and economic profit
According to Agrovet Market, profitability can be achieved through the five freedoms of animal welfarein the examples given below: (Read in Livestock context: Learn about animal welfare applied to beef production)
1. Free from hunger, thirst and malnutrition
An animal in conditions of hunger, thirst or malnutrition you will not be able to express your potential genetic for production, for which they must be supplemented. But if there is overfeeding, more waste and less use can be generated.
2. Free from fear and anguish
By avoiding loud sounds or sudden movements that disturb the animals and implementing strategies to maintain their calm, these animals can be achieved. consume the food they need without being disturbed and achieve higher performance.
3. Free from physical and thermal discomfort
A species-appropriate environment free of any materially noxious sources is ideal for best performance. While cold can predispose to diseasethe heat can cause them to decrease their food consumption or lower their reproductive levels.
4. Free from pain, injury and disease
This includes facilities but especially transportation, where the animal can be injured, and as is well known, a carcass with injuries will receive a lower payment. (Read on Livestock context: Animal welfare, a cross-cutting issue in livestock production)
5. Free to display natural behavior
«Ensuring conditions that avoid mental suffering and under facilities that do not block their habitual behaviors. We have to be attentive to the appearance of stereotypes, repetitive behaviors for no reason that can indicate a poor adaptation to the environment.», he pointed out.
In the case of bovines, the use of space and the evaluation of the time budget through ethograms make it possible to verify welfare problems and especially to verify that the environment has sufficient conditions for them to behave normally.
In the program La Finca de Hoy, the Producer Nestor Bello He also explained that by applying animal welfare, the incidence of diseases can be avoided and while maintaining a high production peakgiven that “animal welfare is one of the factors with the greatest implication”.
«An animal that has been attacked, violated, will see the person as an enemy and will not cooperate. Animals that suffer mistreatment live stressed and stress is one of the causes of immunosuppression, so they are more susceptible to diseases», he added.
You can see his full explanation in the following video:
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