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 10 - 23 June 2021

Cross-sectoral
  • WA moving to optional ear marking and branding by 2022 (Sheep Central)
  • Animal welfare recognised in Australian trade agreement for the first time (Beef Central)
  • British, Australian food standard differences causing angst in free trade deal (ABC)
  • Animal welfare is a measure of moral progress (Bangkok Post O/S)
Cattle in beef & dairy production
  • Forum to look at opportunities and challenges with dairy beef (Farm Online)
  • Sustainability, animal welfare and plant-based diets are transforming the dairy industry in Asia-Pacific (FnB News O/S)
Pigs in pork production
  • How stressed out are factory-farmed animals? AI might have the answer. (Vox O/S)
Sheep in meat & wool production
  • MerinoLink delegates warned on overseas sheep welfare influences (Sheep Central)
  • Sterile blowflies could save farmers millions of dollars (ABC)
Animals in transit & at slaughter
  • Primary meat processing taking animal welfare at heart (London Economic O/S)
  • Abattoir capacity fears as farmers face shorter journey times (Farmers Weekly O/S)
Animals in aquaculture
  • Calls for inquiry into legislated and approved animal deterrents following Tasmanian seal deaths (ABC)
  • Fish Farming Giant Faces Animal Abuse Allegations (Sentient Media O/S)
Poultry in meat & egg production
  • Battery hens to be outlawed by 2036 under new national proposal (ABC)
  • Can pulsed light technology affect cage-free layer behavior? (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • Is the Global Animal Partnership best for chicken welfare? (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • Indonesia sets up its first cage-free egg model farm and training center (The Poultry Site O/S)
  • Morrisons tried to silence me over chicken cruelty, employee claims (The Independent O/S)
  • Nevada passes cage-free egg production law (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • British & French Animal Welfare Charities Team Up (ResponseSource O/S)
Animals in research & teaching
  • The NHMRC has provided the following information on amendments to the Australian Code to ban the use of animals for cosmetic testing. The code incorporates a new Section 7: Cosmetic Testing
  • Concerns raised over focused versus full inspections at research facilities (AVMA O/S)
Animals in racing & sport
  • Fish are caught in the middle of the catch-and-release debate (The Globe & Mail O/S)
  • Rehoming greyhounds no sure bet for animal welfare issues (Newsroom NZ O/S)
Animals in zoos, aquaria & the wild
  • MPs: Octopuses feel pain and need legal protection (BBC O/S)
  • Are Zoos Relevant in 2021? (Fodors O/S)
  • U.S. Activists Try to Halt an Australian Way of Life: Killing Kangaroos (New York Times O/S)
  • Keeping elephants in zoos or safari parks to be banned (Metro O/S)
  • Iceland: Whales safe from harpoons for a third year (PR Newswire O/S)
  • Norway to conduct ‘cruel’ minke whale tests despite opposition (The Guardian O/S)
  • Rat poison found in dead wedge-tailed eagles in Australian-first study (ABC)
  • ‘Cruel’ glue traps that cause suffering may become illegal (Daily Telegraph O/S)
  • An historic rescue operation as Animals Asia saves and transports 101 bears from bear bile farms in China to their new home (World Animal News O/S)
Pets & companion animals
  • Lab-grown cat food soon to hit supermarket shelves (Yahoo Finance)
  • ASPCA Sues USDA Over Animal Welfare Act (One Green Planet O/S)
  • Why does the RSPCA advocate desexing cats before puberty? Includes link to recent research report on pre-pubertal desexing (PPD) in cats. (RSPCA Australia)
Podcasts & presentations
  • Dean's Research Seminar – “Identifying heat resilience in farm animals for better welfare and productivity”. Iain Clarke and  Surinder Chauhan (FVAS, Univ Melbourne)
Policy
  • Queensland introduces new mandatory requirements for the welfare of cattle, sheep and livestock at saleyards and depots (Queensland Government; see Q&As)
  • Australia UK trade: Ensuring high animal welfare standards in future trade deals trade deal (Sustain O/S)
  • Octopuses and lobsters have feelings – include them in sentience bill, urge MPs (The Guardian O/S)
  • 'A Huge Victory': Biden USDA Moves to Restore Animal Welfare Protections Shredded by Trump (Common Dreams O/S)
  • MEPs endorse EU citizens’ call for gradual end to caged farming (Euro Parliament O/S)
  • UK government introduces new protections for livestock in second Animal Welfare Bill (The Pig Site O/S)
  • Israel Bans Fur in “Historic” Announcement (One Green Planet O/S)
  • Prop 12 offers no benefit to consumers, animal welfare (National Hog Farmer O/S)
Other/Publications
  • Action Plan for Animal Welfare (GOV.UK)
  • Animals Farmed (The Guardian O/S)
  • Is the UK really a world leader on animal welfare? (The Grocer O/S)
  • Dr Bidda Jones receives an OAM (Goulburn Post)
  • The Past, Present, and Future of Animal Welfare in China (Sentient Media O/S)
  • Animal Production Science: Layer Hen Welfare. Ed. P.H. Hemsworth, A.J. Tilbrook D. L. Campbell, A.D. Fisher. (Animal Production Science)
  • International Society for Applied Ethology – Papers by Members. Sheep, Pigs, Fish, Mink, Snakes, Dairy Cows. (ISAE)
  • Andersen, P.H.; Broomé, S.; Rashid, M.; Lundblad, J.; Ask, K.; Li, Z.; Hernlund, E.; Rhodin, M.; Kjellström, H. Towards Machine Recognition of Facial Expressions of Pain in Horses. Animals 2021, 11, 1643. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061643
  • Beaver, A.; Strazhnik, E.; von Keyserlingk, M.A.G.; Weary, D.M. The Freestall Reimagined: Effects on Stall Hygiene and Space Usage in Dairy Cattle. Animals 2021, 11, 1711. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061711
  • Jen-Yun Chou, Irene Camerlink. Online conferences as an opportunity to enhance inclusiveness in animal behaviour and welfare research: A case study of the ISAE 2020 virtual meeting. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, Volume 241, 2021, 105369 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159121001568
  • Eggel, Matthias, and Hanno Würbel. “Internal Consistency and Compatibility of the 3Rs and 3Vs Principles for Project Evaluation of Animal Research.” Laboratory Animals 55, no. 3 (June 2021): 233–43. https://doi.org/10.1177/0023677220968583
  • L. Morgan, J. Meyer, S. Novak, A. Younis, W.A. Ahmad, T. Raz. Shortening sow restraint period during lactation improves production and decreases hair cortisol concentrations in sows and their piglets. Animal,Volume 15, Issue 2,2021,100082. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2020.100082
  • Albuquerque Natalia, Savalli Carine, Cabral Francisco, Resende Briseida. Do Emotional Cues Influence the Performance of Domestic Dogs in an Observational Learning Task?  Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 2021, p 1830. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.615074/full?s=09
  • Parrott, M.L.; Wicker, L.V.; Lamont, A.; Banks, C.; Lang, M.; Lynch, M.; McMeekin, B.; Miller, K.A.; Ryan, F.; Selwood, K.E.; Sherwen, S.L.; Whiteford, C. Emergency Response to Australia’s Black Summer 2019–2020: The Role of a Zoo-Based Conservation Organisation in Wildlife Triage, Rescue, and Resilience for the Future. Animals 2021, 11, 1515. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11061515
  • Claire Toinon, Susanne Waiblinger, Jean-Loup Rault. Maternal deprivation affects goat kids’ stress coping behaviour, Physiology & Behavior,2021,113494.  https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938421001840         

Conferences, Seminars & Events

  • DIARY HOLD – Animal Welfare Horizons 2021, Brisbane, December 1st (TAWC)
  • DIARY HOLD – The National Primary Industries Animal Welfare Strategy 11th Annual Forum, Brisbane. December 2nd – Further details to be announced. Express interest on NAWRDES Webpage
  • International Society of Anthrozoology 2021 Conference Online. 22 – 24 June. (ISAZ)
  • Animals, Ethics and Technology: Towards digital rights for animals – 25 June, 1.00pm – 2.00pm AEST. Centre for AI and Digital Ethics, Univ Melbourne.
  • Universities Federation for Animal Welfare. Recent advances in animal welfare science VIII. 29-30 June. (UFAW)
  • European Assn of Zoos and Aquaria Animal Welfare Webinar – Reproductive Management & Animal Welfare, 30 June 8.00pm AEST. (EAZA)
  • Canine Science Forum 2021. Virtual meeting 6-9 July. Details HERE
  • National Livestock Wellbeing Seminar – July 13. Details TBA Register HERE
  • ANZCCART Conference 2021 – “Openness in Animal Research”. 25-27 July, Queenstown, NZ. (ANZCCART)
  • Australian Dairy Farmers Dairy Beef Online Forum, 29 July, 9am AEST. (DA).
  • Graham Centre Livestock Forum. 30 July. (Graham Centre for Ag Innovation)
  • 54th Congress of the International Society for Applied Ethology (on-line). 2 – 6 August. (ISAE 2021)
  • 8th International Conference on The Assessment of Animal Welfare at Farm and Group Level. 16-19 August – Virtual Conference. (WAFL)
  • 11th World Virtual Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences 22-27 August. (WC11)
  • 2021 Animal Welfare Foundation Discussion Forum (Virtual). 15 September. (AWF)
  • One Welfare World Conference – Virtual. 15-16 Sept 2021. (OneWelfareWorld)
  • 12th International Working Dog Conference, Oct. 12-14 (IWDC 2021)
  • LIVEXchange, Nov 10 – 11. Darwin. (LIVEXchange)
  • Australasian Pig Science Association Conference. 15 – 18 November. (APSA)
  • European Assn of Zoos and Aquaria first Animal Welfare Forum. 21 – 24 March 2022,The Netherlands. (EAZA)
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