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 1 - 14 December 2022

Cross-sectoral
Cattle in beef & dairy production
  • Low-cost thermal image devices to detect cow lameness (Dairy Global O/S)
  • How enrichment could help cow welfare and public perception of dairy (Farmers Weekly O/S)
  • Calves Could Benefit from Physical Enrichment (Dairy Herd Management O/S)
  • Scientists develop smartwatch-like health trackers for cows (The Guardian (O/S)
  • New Exposé Shines Light On Lameness ‘Epidemic’ Among  UK Dairy Cows (Plant Based News O/S)
  • Plant-based meat substitutes having little impact on domestic consumers, MLA Updates told (Beef Central)
Pigs in pork production
  • Social stress assessment in pigs (Pig Progress O/S)
  • Compass Group USA Aims to Increase ‘Higher Welfare Pork’ (Farm Journal O/S)
  • China’s 26-storey pig skyscraper ready to slaughter 1 million pigs a year (The Guardian O/S)
  • How Pigs Resolve Conflicts, According to Science (Sentient Media O/S)
Poultry in meat & egg production
  • Broiler research points to lasers as environmental enrichment devices (Iowa SU O/S)
  • Dual-purpose chickens – an alternative to culling day-old male chicks (Poultry World O/S)
  • Managing intact beak laying hens (The Poultry Site O/S)
  • Making the case for culling day-old layer males (Poultry World O/S)
  • Calls for stronger poultry welfare rules across Europe (Poultry World O/S)
Sheep in meat & wool production
  • AWI non-mulesed wool inaction slammed in ANAO submission (Sheep Central)
Animals in transit & at slaughter
  • Farmers get premium for live export cows as ban approaches (Stuff NZ O/S)
Animals in aquaculture and wild caught
  • Farmed fish are suffering without adequate legal protection. It’s time to act (The Grocer O/S)
  • Horizon Europe project to enhance animal health and welfare in EU fish farming (Innovation News Network O/S)
Animals in research & teaching
  • Musk’s Neuralink faces federal inquiry after killing 1,500 animals in testing (The Guardian O/S)
Animals in racing, sports & work
  • Talking Horses: whip splits sport again as riders call rules ‘ridiculous’ (The Guardian O/S)
  • How the ‘destructive rivalry’ between Victoria and NSW is hurting horse welfare (SMH)
Animals in zoos, aquaria & the wild
  • Biden expected to sign law ending Tiger King-style big cat ownership (The Biden expected to sign law ending Tiger King-style big cat ownership (The Guardian O/S)
  • Report of the NZ Petitions Committee re. Ban commercial greyhound racing in Aotearoa (Parliament NZ)
  • Damning Greyhound Racing Report Highlights Doubts The Industry Should Continue (Stuff NZ O/S)
Pets & companion animals
  • Why you shouldn’t pat your horse: using rewards correctly to improve your horse’s training (Horse & Hound O/S)
  • Saving our cats through a National Cat Act (Stuff NZ O/S)
  • Horses’ lives at risk as owners can’t see the excess weight (Horse & Hound O/S)
Podcasts & presentations
Policy
  • 44 Animal Welfare Laws Risk Being Scrapped In The UK Due To Brexit (Plant Based News O/S)
  • Queensland, Australia, Passes Stricter Animal Welfare Laws For The First Time In More Than Two Decades (World Animal News O/S)
  • Legislation introduced to enforce animal welfare practices (Meat+Poultry O/S)
Other/Publications
  • Cephalopods Can Pass a Cognitive Test Designed For Human Children (Science alert O/S)
  • The History of Laws Against Cruelty to Animals (Syd Crim Lawyers)
  • Baude B, Krugmann K, Diers S, Tholen E, Krieter J. Short-term fixation of sows in farrowing pens using different opening procedures. Livestock Science. 2022; 264: 105051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.livsci.2022.105051
  • Furtado, T.; Preshaw, L.; Hockenhull, J.; Wathan, J.; Douglas, J.; Horseman, S.; Smith, R.; Pollard, D.; Pinchbeck, G.; Rogers, J.; Hall, C. How Happy Are Equine Athletes? Stakeholder Perceptions of Equine Welfare Issues Associated with Equestrian Sport. Animals 2021, 11, 3228. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113228
  • Hannah R. Golightly, Jennifer Brown, Renée Bergeron, Zvonimir Poljak, Yolande M. Seddon, Terri L. O’Sullivan. Impact of two commercial weaning and transport strategies on piglet behaviour, body weight change, lesions and lameness following transport. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 257, 2022, 105775. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159122002350
  • Rebecca E. Nordquist, J.C.M. Vernooij, C.L. Dull, A. Pascual, G. van der Linde, Vivian C. Goerlich. The effects of transport of 18-day old hatching eggs on physiology and behaviour of slow growing broiler chicken, Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 257, 2022, 105789. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159122002490
  • Racciatti DS, Feld A, Rial LA, Blanco C and Tallo-Parra O (2022) Ackonc-AWA: A multi-species animal welfare assessment protocol for wild animals under human care to overcome the use of generic welfare checklists. Front. Vet. Sci. 9:1033821. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1033821
  • Lynne U. Sneddon, Jonathan A.C. Roques. Pain Recognition in Fish. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Exotic Animal Practice, Volume 26, Issue 1, 2023, Pages 1-10. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1094919422000378

Conferences, Seminars & Events

  • AWP25 Webinars “Achieving Change in the Private Sector” January 9th  2023 12 pm PT (Commences 7.00am AEDT 10th January 2023)  (UBC)
  • International Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference 2023 18 -19th January 2023. https://www.animbehav2023.com/?s=09
  • AWP25 Webinars “Achieving Change in the Animal Protection Movement” February 6 2023 12 pm PT  (Commences 7.00am AEDT 7th February 2023) (UBC)
  • International Forum for the Aftercare of Racehorses (IFAR) 14 – 19th February 2023, Melbourne (Details)
  • evokeAG. 21st – 22nd February 2023, Adelaide. (evokeAG)
  • RSPCA Animal Welfare Seminar 2023. Quit horsing around: Advancing horse welfare in Australia. Wednesday 22nd – 23rd February 2023. Online. (RSPCA)
  • AWP25 Webinars “Achieving Change for Wild Animals” March 6 2023 12 pm PT (Commences 7.00am AEDT 7th March 2023 (UBC)
  • AWP25 Webinars “Achieving Change in Research” 6th April  2023 12 pm PDT (Commences 5.00am AEDT 7th April 2023) (UBC)
  • International Society for Anthrozoology 2023 Conference, June 15th – 18th, Edinburgh, UK (Details TBA)
  • UFAW Animal Welfare Conference, 20th – 21st June 2023 – Online (Details TBA)
  • International Society for Applied Ethology, Congress. 1st – 5th August, 2023, Tallinn, Estonia (ISAE)
  • Behaviour 2023.14th – 20th August 2023, Univ Bielefeld, Germany. (Behaviour2023)
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