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

News 30 September - 13 October 2021

Cross-sectoral
  • Animal welfare, organic claims are increasing in the meat, dairy cases – bringing higher sales (Food Navigator O/S)
  • 11 start-ups advancing sustainable livestock and aquaculture production (The Pig Site O/S)
  • Canada Animal Welfare Scorecard (Mercy for Animals O/S)
  • Voiceless Animal Cruelty Index (Voiceless)
Cattle in beef & dairy production
  • Dairy beef scheme offers alternative to slaughter of unwanted calves (ABC)
  • Temple Grandin: Looking Back, Looking Ahead (Drovers O/S)
  • More sexed semen sourced as NZ farmer orders triple (Dairy News O/S)
Pigs in pork production
  • Pig culling starts on 'handful' of farms across country (Farming UK O/S)
  • Belgium’s first national animal welfare standard developed for pork (Food Navigator O/S)
Poultry in meat & egg production
  • High welfare outcomes possible regardless of breed (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • Latin American egg industry can't afford cage-free (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • Farmer wins animal welfare award for his 'chatty' hens (Farming UK O/S)
  • Vietnam’s first certified cage-free egg brand launched (Poultry World O/S)
Sheep in meat & wool production
  • Olsson argues against new wool industry mulesing deadline (Sheep Central)
  • Victorian sheep farmer convicted on animal cruelty charges (Sheep Central)
Animals in transit & at slaughter
  • Study: Observers Find Poor Conditions on Most Live Export Ships (Maritme Executive – see publications section)
  • Muslim organisations consider appeal against ban on ritual slaughter (Brussels Times O/S)
  • RSPCA UK criticised for defending pig deaths in slaughterhouses as ‘more humane’ (Independent O/S)
  • ‘Out of touch’ Johnson accused of ignoring the plight of pig farmers (Evening Standard O/S)
  • Boris Johnson: petrol crisis and pig cull part of necessary post-Brexit transition (The Guardian O/S)
  • Abattoir labour shortage sees Yorkshire farmer kill piglets (BBC O/S)
  • Up to 120,000 pigs in UK face culling due to lack of abattoir workers (The Guardian O/S)
Animals in aquaculture
  • Octopus Farming: A Recipe for Disaster (CIWF O/S)
  • Should you buy farmed salmon? (Which O/S)
  • FAO Elevates Aquatic Animal Welfare (Scoop O/S)
Animals in research & teaching
  • Animal testing in Brussels dropped by one-third in five years (Brussels Times O/S)
  • The U.S.’s only research chinchilla supplier has been shut down. Here’s why that matters. (National Geographic O/S)
Animals in racing, sports & work
  • Horse Whipping Cruelty: PETA Australia Files Criminal Charges (PETA)
  • New rule in Britain will end practice of sending former racehorses to abattoirs (The Guardian O/S)
  • Used, not abused: New ethical framework for horse sports and racing developed (Horsetalk O/S)
  • Exposed: Why the Calgary Stampede Needs to Shut Down (One Green Planet O/S)
  • Lessons to be learnt from new dog research (Beef Central)
  • Working equines at crisis point in “spiraling climate disaster” (Horsetalk O/S)
Animals in zoos, aquaria & the wild
  • Why so many of us are casual spider-murderers (BBC O/S)
  • Columbus Zoo and Aquarium loses accreditation (Axios O/S)
  • ADA Take Hunting to the Decision Makers (Sporting Shooter)
  • 57 per cent of elephants at Thai tourist facilities have nervous tics (New Scientist O/S)
Pets & companion animals
  • How Do Old Horses Spend Their Days? (The Horse O/S)
  • Do Dogs Get SAD? How Seasonal Changes Affect Your Pet (Newsweek O/S)
Podcasts & presentations
  • British & Irish Assn of Zoos & Aquaria – Vicki Melfi “How attached are zoo keepers to the animals in their care?” (BIAZA)
  • Can we effectively enrich the lives of intensively farmed pigs? Dr. Yolande Seddon,  Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. (University of Guelph)
  • Farmers Weekly Podcast Episode 76: Turkey shortage 0.00-12.00 (Farmers Weekly O/S)
Policy
  • Germany - State Animal Welfare Label for Pigs: Cabinet Agrees on Animal Welfare Labelling Act (Fed Min of Food and Ag O/S)
  • Sweden’s animal welfare laws continue to strengthen – study (Horsetalk O/S)
  • Labelling confusion: Vegan accuses supermarket of ‘tricking her’ into eating actual meat (Beef Central)
  • Is the Pork Industry Using Food Justice to Stall California’s New Animal Welfare Law? (Civil Eats O/S)
Other/Publications
  • Job vacancy: Chief Science Officer (RSPCA Australia)
  • Animals Farmed (The Guardian O/S)
  • Animals Have Some Legal Protections. Here’s Where They Fall Short (Sentient Media O/S)
  • Dr Bidda Jones AM to move on from RSPCA Australia at the end of the year (RSPCA Australia)
  • Dairy Cattle Welfare in Practice – (5m Books)
  • E-Book, Animal Welfare Assessment, Volume II. Eds Edward Narayan and Alan G. McElligott. (Frontiers)
  • From fringe to mainstream: how millions got a taste for going vegan (The Guardian O/S)
  • No Animal Left Behind 2021 Report (Eurogroup for Animals O/S)
  • No Animal Left Behind White Paper (Eurogroup for Animals O/S)
  • RSPCA Australia Science Update #74 (RSPCA)
  • ISAE Papers by members, broilers, zebrafish, deer, dairy cows (ISAE)
  • Albuquerque, N., Mills, D.S., Guo, K. et al. Dogs can infer implicit information from human emotional expressions. Anim Cogn (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10071-021-01544-x
  • Charalambous, R.; Simonato, T.; Peel, M.; Narayan, E.J. Physiological Stress in Rescued Wild Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) Being Held in a Rehabilitation Sanctuary: A Pilot Study. Animals 2021, 11, 2864. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102864
  • Hing, S.; Foster, S.; Evans, D. Animal Welfare Risks in Live Cattle Export from Australia to China by Sea. Animals 2021, 11, 2862. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102862
  • Lingens, J.B.; Abd El-Wahab, A.; Ahmed, M.F.E.; Schubert, D.C.; Sürie, C.; Visscher, C. Effects of Early Nutrition of Hatched Chicks on Welfare and Growth Performance: A Pilot Study. Animals 2021, 11, 2888. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102888
  • Lundmark Hedman, F.; Berg, C.; Stéen, M. Thirty Years of Changes and the Current State of Swedish Animal Welfare Legislation. Animals 2021, 11, 2901. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11102901
  • Pahuja, H.; Narayan, E. Indexing Baselines: Determining Physiological Stress in Rescued Orphaned Koala Joeys Under Rehabilitation by Comparing Faecal Cortisol Levels Between Healthy and Impaired Individuals. Preprints 2021, 2021100173 https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202110.0173/v1?s=09
  • Rault Jean-Loup, Camerlink Irene, Goumon Sébastien, Mundry Roger, Špinka Marek. The Joint Log-Lift Task: A Social Foraging Paradigm. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 8, 2021, 1158. https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fvets.2021.745627  
  • Sasitorn Fuktong, Prapatsorn Yuttasaen, Veerasak Punyapornwithaya, Janine L. Brown, Chatchote Thitaram, Nicharee Luevitoonvechakij, Pakkanut Bansiddhi. A survey of stereotypic behaviors in tourist camp elephants in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 243,2021,105456. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121002434

Conferences, Seminars & Events

  • REGISTRATION OPEN – Animal Welfare Horizons 2021 (virtual event), 29th November, 9.00am AEST. Register here or visit TAWC Webpage for more details.
  • REGISTRATION OPEN – The National Primary Industries Animal Welfare Strategy – Research Snapshots,  November 30th, 11.00am AEDST – Register here or visit NAWRDES Project Snapshots page for more details
  • Pain In Animals Workshop 2021, Exploring best practices and knowledge gaps for measuring chronic pain objectively in dogs and acute pain in cattle. Oct. 14 – 15. (11.00pm AEDST) (Details)
  • RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Meeting 2021. Oct. 19 (11.00 UKDST) (Details)
  • 2nd Aggression in Dogs Conference, Oct. 22-24 (Loose Leash Academy O/S) (Register)
  • Companion Animals NZ Conference 2021. “Towards a Good Life. Oct 28-29 8.30 NZDT. (Register)
  • LIVEXchange, Nov 10 – 11. Darwin. (LIVEXchange)
  • Human-animal interaction before and since Covid-19: lessons & priorities 12 Nov 1 – 3 am AEST (Univ of York)
  • Australasian Pig Science Association Conference. Brisbane, 15 – 18 November. (APSA)
  • ISAE Online Regional Meeting (Africa/Australasia) 1 – 2 December. (Details)
  • World Aquaculture 2020, 5 – 8 December, Singapore (Details)
  • RSPCA Animal Welfare Seminar 2022 – Animal welfare in a changing climate 16 – 17 February 2022 (Details)
  • European Assn of Zoos and Aquaria first Animal Welfare Forum. 21 – 24 March 2022,The Netherlands. (EAZA)
  • 2nd Australian Biosecurity Symposium, Gold Coast, 3 – 5 May 2022. (Registration)
  • UFAW International Conference, Edinburgh UK June 28-29 (Details)
  • Australian Association of Animal Sciences Conference. 5 – 7 July 2022. (AAAS2022)
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