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 14 - 27 July 2022

Cross-sectoral
  • France meat labelling reform prompts calls for Australian action (Beef Central)
  • Stronger legal protection needed for animals in Canada, says researcher (Phys.org O/S)
  • OIE becomes WOAH! (Watt Poultry O/S)
Cattle in beef & dairy production
  • Animal welfare measures affect the profitability of Swedish milk, beef production – brief (SLU O/S)
  • Sex-sorted semen in dairy breeding – what’s the latest? (Dairy Global O/S)
  • Experts gather to discuss future of dairy cow monitoring (Agriland O/S)
  • Calf behavior studied for welfare (Agri-View O/S)
  • PETA is suing a Wisconsin dairy co-op for separating calves from their moms. But why do farmers do so? (Wisconsin Public Radio O/S)
Pigs in pork production
  • Securing a piglet’s environment and welfare (Pig Progress O/S)
  • 138 Irish commercial farms inspected under pig-welfare directive (Agriland O/S)
  • Securing a piglet’s environment and welfare (Pig Progress O/S)
Poultry in meat & egg production
  • A million UK chickens ‘die needlessly each week to keep prices low’ (The Guardian O/S)
  • The UK poultry industry’s response to total cage ban proposals (Farmers Weekly O/S)
  • How laying hens are kept around the world (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • What does the upcoming Prop 12 hearing mean for US eggs? (Watt Poultry O/S)
  • Shift to cage-free for hens in the EU continues (Poultry World O/S)
Sheep in meat & wool production
  • World-first sustainability scorecard for sheep and wool industry released in Australia (MLA)
Animals in transit & at slaughter
  • Indonesia hopes to export live chickens to Singapore: Indonesian Ambassador (CNA O/S)
  • It is better for animals to be stunned before slaughter (Jewish Chronicle O/S)
  • Ireland - Live exports: No vets on board, it’s ‘not possible to stand over that’ (Agriland O/S)
Animals in aquaculture and wild caught
  • Fish welfare debated by UK parliament for first time (The Grocer O/S)
  • Aquabyte raises $25 million (The Fish Site O/S)
  • Fish-farming practices come under scrutiny amid surge in aquaculture (Mongabay O/S)
  • Aquatic Life Institute launches public tool to evaluate aquatic animal welfare in seafood certifications (Seafood Source O/S)
  • Vegan oysters in shells? This startup just developed a prototype to save the oceans (VegNews O/S)
Animals in research & teaching
  • If Insects Feel Pain, Should They Be Protected in Research? (Undark O/S)
  • 4,000 beagles were rescued from a Virginia research facility. how common is lab testing on dogs in the US? (North-Eastern News O/S)
  • 4,000 beagles to be rescued from Virginia breeding facility after animal welfare violations alleged (Phys.org O/S)
Animals in racing, sports & work
  • Horses in the wild have lower welfare levels than those living in the stable and engaged in work activities (EurekaAlert O/S)
  • How do bucking bulls really feel about rodeos? (Univ Calgary O/S)
  • Legality of rodeo challenged in the High Court at Wellington (NZ Herald O/S)
  • New whip rules: World Horse Welfare say changes don't go far enough (Sporting Life O/S)
  • Victory! World’s largest bullfighting arena no longer holds bullfights (HSUS O/S)
Animals in zoos, aquaria & the wild
  • Dublin Zoo disputes allegations in Seanad about animal welfare (Irish Times O/S)
  • Dublin Zoo to be investigated after whistleblower claims of animal mistreatment (Dublin News O/S)
  • How do you move 250 elephants to their new home? Very carefully (NPR O/S)
  • Faroe Islands branded an ‘abattoir’ as quota set for slaughter of 500 dolphins (The Guardian O/S)
  • There's Growing Evidence That Insects Feel Pain, Just Like Us (Nature O/S)
  • 40th Anniversary of Global Ban on Commercial Whaling Commemorated (Animal Welfare Institute O/S)
  • Life in the wild for horses has its stresses, research shows (Horsetalk O/S)
  • Guard dogs helpful in sheep, but not total wild dog solution (Sheep Central)
  • Is the badger cull working or not? A closer look at the latest research (RUSource O/S)
Pets & companion animals
  • Horses in the wild have lower welfare levels than those living in the stable and engaged in work activities (EurekaAlert O/S)
  • Two-day Forum Anchors Canine Welfare Discussions in Science (Purdue Univ O/S)
  • Collars found in slaughterhouse tell heartbreaking story about the dog meat trade (HSUS O/S)
Podcasts & presentations
  • Shearing Technology: Finding new ways to harvest wool (ABC)
  • RSPCA is issuing a warning to help our pets stay safe and warm this Australian winter (7News)
Policy
  • NZ NAWAC must recommend a ban on colony cages in the next code of welfare – (Voxy O/S)
  • A bipartisan whistleblower bill targets wildlife crime (Reuters O/S)
  • House of Representatives Passes Funding Bill with Numerous Wins for Animals (AWI O/S)
  • Animal cruelty: UK Consultation (Ministry of Justice UK)
Other/Publications
  • Animal Welfare - Book Reviews – (UFAW)
  • Danish mink farmers say industry will not recover from mass COVID culls two years ago (ABC)
  • Animal Emotions—Do Animals Feel as We Do? (Frontiers for Young Minds O/S)
  • Global Food Partners Newsletter July 2022 (GFP O/S)
  • Greece's fur industry on the brink as EU sanctions on Russia bite (Reuters O/S)
  • Nicholas Goldberg: Are animals entitled to basic legal rights just like people? (Yahoo Life O/S)
  • New Book – Routledge Handbook of Animal Welfare, Eds  Andrew Knight, Clive Phillips, Paula Sparks. (Routledge)
  • The State of the Art of Animal Welfare Science (Psychology Today O/S)
  • Why Veterinary Education Needs Major Improvements (Psychology Today O/S)
  • itor Arrazola, Tina M. Widowski, Stephanie Torrey. In pursuit of a better broiler: welfare and productivity of slower-growing broiler breeders during lay. Poultry Science, Volume 101, Issue 8, 2022, 101917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2022.101917
  • Boys, R.M.; Beausoleil, N.J.; Pawley, M.D.M.; Betty, E.L.; Stockin, K.A. Evaluating Potential Cetacean Welfare Indicators from Video of Live Stranded Long-Finned Pilot Whales (Globicephala melas edwardii). Animals 2022, 12, 1861. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141861 
  • Cerasoli, F.; Podaliri Vulpiani, M.; Saluti, G.; Conte, A.; Ricci, M.; Savini, G.; D’Alterio, N. Assessment of Welfare in Groups of Horses with Different Management, Environments and Activities by Measuring Cortisol in Horsehair, Using Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid Orbitrap High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Animals 2022, 12, 1739. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12141739
  • I. Chan, B. Franks, and M. N. Hayek, “The ‘sustainability gap’ of US broiler chicken production: trade-offs between welfare, land use and consumption,” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 9, no. 6, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210478
  • Coghlan, S. The role of ethical reflection and dialogue in conceptualising animal welfare. J Agric Environ Ethics 35, 14 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10806-022-09888-1
  • R. Garant et al., “Wing-feather loss in white-feathered laying hens decreases pectoralis thickness but does not increase risk of keel bone fracture,” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 9, no. 6, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220155
  • Matilda Gibbons, Sajedeh Sarlak and Lars Chittka. Descending control of nociception in insects? Proc. R. Soc. B 289: 20220599. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.0599
  • A. Mao et al., “Automated identification of chicken distress vocalizations using deep learning models,” Journal of The Royal Society Interface, vol. 19, no. 191, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2021.0921
  • Neary Jessica M., Porter Nathaniel D., Viscardi Abbie V., Jacobs Leonie. Recognizing Post-Castration Pain in Piglets: A Survey of Swine Industry Stakeholders and the General Public. Frontiers in Animal Science, 3, 2022. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fanim.2022.937020
  • F. Occhiuto, J. A. Vázquez-Diosdado, C. Carslake, and J. Kaler, “Personality and predictability in farmed calves using movement and space-use behaviours quantified by ultra-wideband sensors,” Royal Society Open Science, vol. 9, no. 6, Jun. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.212019

Conferences, Seminars & Events

  • European Conference on Precision Livestock Farming & International Conference on Precision Dairy Farming, 29 Aug-2 Sept University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna (Vetmeduni)
  • The 55th Congress of the International Society of Applied Ethology, 4 – 8 Sept 2022. N Macedonia. (ISAE)
  • One Health Downunder Symposium 2022, 12th – 13th September 2022 (Univ Qld)
  • 77th WAZA Annual Conference, 23 – 27 October, Tenerife. (Details)
  • International Animal Behaviour Twitter Conference 2023 18 -19th January 2023. https://www.animbehav2023.com/?s=09
  • RSPCA Animal Welfare Seminar 2023. Quit horsing around: Advancing horse welfare in Australia. Wednesday 22 and Thursday 23 February 2023. Online. (RSPCA)
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