A selection of animal welfare news from around the world

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Please note that the articles below do not reflect opinions of TAWC. Although we aim to provide comprehensive coverage, there are likely articles that we’ve missed.

O/S = Overseas source
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News 27 November – 10 December 2020

Cross-sectoral
  • Queensland launches first review of animal welfare laws in almost two decades (Mirage)
  • RSPCA NSW welcomes parliamentary inquiry findings (Mirage)
  • If we can grow cruelty-free meat in a lab, what is there to beef about? (Guardian O/S)
  • A Farm Sanctuary Tour’s Effects On Intentions And Diet Change (Faunalytics O/S)
  • Vegetarian or Vegan? Watch Your Bone Health (New York Times O/S)
  • Industry releases updated reports on cattle and sheep health and welfare (ADHB O/S)
  • How PETA Is Fighting To End Speciesism—And Working With Brands To Promote Eco-Friendly And Vegan Materials (Forbes O/S)
  • Breakthrough theory suggests emotions and mood underpin animal behaviour, much like in humans (Queen’s Univ, Belfast O/S)
  • Animal welfare actions raise productivity, sustainability (Weekly Times)
  • Pain mitigation in sheep and cattle (MLA Factsheet)
Cattle in beef & dairy production
  • Working together to harmonise cattle welfare standards (Mirage)
  • Animal Welfare Through an Animal Activist’s Eyes (Dairy Herd O/S)
  • One in five British schoolchildren don’t understand where milk comes from (The Caterer O/S)
  • Pain mitigation for castration in beef cattle in southern Australia (MLA Factsheet)
Pigs in pork production
  • Farm visit: Welfare and environment key in innovative barn (Pig Progress O/S)
  • Pain management for piglet castration – what’s the problem? (Pig Progress O/S)
  • Coronavirus continues to roil UK meat supply chain (The Pig Site O/S)
  • Pig sector forum set up to address Covid-19 issues (FarmingUK O/S)
Poultry in meat & egg production
  • Singapore greenlights the sale of lab-grown chicken meat (The Poultry Site O/S)
  • All hens and other farm birds to be kept inside in GB avian flu crackdown (Guardian O/S)
  • How a Kinder, More Sustainable Hen-Laying Ecosystem Became a Billion-Dollar Business (Inc O/S)
  • Costco making transition to cage-free egg policy (The Poultry Site O/S)
  • Genetic tweaking will help Israel, world stop killing male baby chicks (ynetnews O/S)
  • Is the term ‘free range’ on a product label enough to guarantee good animal welfare? (RSPCA Aust)
  • Why the USDA is being sued – again (NewsClick O/S)
Sheep in meat & wool production
Animals in transit & at slaughter
  • Why I can’t support the government’s proposed plan to ban the live export of animals (Independent O/S)
  • England and Wales to ban live animal exports in European first (Guardian O/S)
  • Exporting animal welfare to Vietnam (Farm Weekly)
  • From The Archive: The Far Right And Animal Welfare (Hope not Hate O/S)
  • Talks intensify over proposal to fly calves to Europe (Farming Independent.ie O/S)
  • BVA hails animal welfare mandate (CCTV) for Scottish abattoirs (Meat Management O/S)
Animals in aquaculture
  • Stepping up tilapia welfare in Brazil and beyond (The Fish Site O/S)
  • There aren’t plenty more fish in the sea (USYD)
Animals in research & teaching
  • Forced swim tests on mice at University of Bath slammed by animal welfare group PETA (Somerset Live O/S)
  • Animal rights activists want ‘big changes’ to research after piglets gassed to death in Kiwi experiments (NewsHub O/S)
Animals in racing & sport
  • Horse Racing and Animal Rights (Treehugger O/S)
  • Openness and transparency crucial to the future of racing and other animal industries, researchers suggest (HorseTalk NZ O/S)
Animals in zoos, aquaria & the wild
  • Chimpanzee sanctuaries are under fire. Can a new science-based tool improve ape welfare? (Science O/S)
  • Access to justice for animals is gaining momentum through legislation such as the Jane Goodall Act (Canadian Lawyer O/S)
  • Should Wildlife Be Granted the Right to Own Their Homes? (Psychology Today O/S)
  • Relocating Auckland Zoo elephants will distress them – World Animal Protection Group (NewsHub NZ O/S)
  • Research Highlights Animal Welfare Issues In Developing Country Zoos (Wild Welfare O/S)
  • ‘World’s loneliest elephant’ Kaavan starts trip to Cambodia (AP O/S)
 
Pets & companion animals
  • Valuing The Welfare Of Dogs Over Profit And Convenience (Patch O/S)
  • Veterinary Behaviourist to help dogs with separation anxiety post COVID (Mirage)
  • Study Finds That Pets Have Significantly Improved Lives Since the Pandemic Disrupted Human Relationships (MyModernMet O/S)
Podcasts & presentations

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Policy
  • UK NFU cautiously welcomes new agricultural transition policy (The Pig Site O/S)
  • Agricultural transition plan 2021 to 2024 (UK GOV O/S)
  • Brexit: Lambs to the slaughter (BBC O/S)
  • Live animal exports to be banned in England and Wales (BBC O/S)
  • Proposed Jane Goodall Act game-changing animal law breakthrough (Lawyer’s Daily O/S)
  • Ban on wild animals in Welsh travelling circuses starts today (Totally Vegan Buzz O/S)
Other/Publications
  • Akerfeldt, M.P., Gunnarsson, S., Bernes, G. et al. Health and welfare in organic livestock production systems—a systematic mapping of current knowledge. Org. Agr. (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-020-00334-y
  • Andrew Crump, Emily J. Bethell, Ryan Earley, Victoria E. Lee, Michael Mendl, Lucy Oldham, Simon P. Turner and Gareth Arnott. Emotion in animal contests. Proc.R.Soc.B. 287:20201715. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.1715
  • Diana, A., Lorenzi, V., Penasa, M. et al. Effect of welfare standards and biosecurity practices on antimicrobial use in beef cattle. Sci Rep 10, 20939 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-77838-w
  • Hampton, J.O.; Jones, B.; McGreevy, P.D. Social License and Animal Welfare: Developments from the Past Decade in Australia. Animals 2020, 10, 2237. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2237
  • Maskato, Y.; Dugdale, A.H.A.; Singer, E.R.; Kelmer, G.; Sutton, G.A. Prospective Feasibility and Revalidation of the Equine Acute Abdominal Pain Scale (EAAPS) in Clinical Cases of Colic in Horses. Animals 2020, 10, 2242. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2242
  • Navarro, E., Mainau, E and Manteca, X.  Development of a Facial Expression Scale Using Farrowing as a Model of Pain in Sows. Animals 2020, 10(11), 2113; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10112113
  • Patrícia Pinto da Rosa, Bianca Pio Ávila, Isabelle Damé Veber Angelo, Rodrigo Garavaglia Chesini, Tiago Albandes Fernandes, Juliana da Silva Camacho, Milena Bugoni, Victor Fernando Buttow Roll & Márcia Arocha Gularte (2020) Impact of different chicken meat production systems on consumers’ purchase perception, British Poultry Science, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071668.2020.1857335
  • Stampa, E.; Zander, K.; Hamm, U. Insights into German Consumers’ Perceptions of Virtual Fencing in Grassland-Based Beef and Dairy Systems: Recommendations for Communication. Animals 2020, 10, 2267. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/12/2267/htm

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