Disease and Production Measure of Animal Welfare Flashcards
a physical or mental condition where normal function is disturbed or harmed
Disease
can result in similar disruption to the normal functioning of the systems
Intensive (and excessive) production techniques
have a mental elements because they provide sensory input to the brain which can result in negative feelings (e.g. pain, fatigue) and negative emotions (e.g. fear resulting from physical weakness and vulnerability).
diseases and excessive production demands
Three approaches when considering animal welfare
Physical, Mental, Aspect of Naturalness
The third area also be compromised by?
disease or by excessive production demands
any significant compromise in physical functioning-because of diseases or excessive production demands can affect the ________ _______ of the animal.
mental state
it is the study of disease
Pathology
Example of excessive production
rapid growth, overcrowded housing, high demand for milk
Diseases are caused by infectious agents like?
-Prions
-Viruses
-Bacteria
-Fungi
-Parasites
(protozoa, helminths, insects)
Not-infectious
-Metabolic
-Nutritional
-Neoplastic
-Autoimmune
-Genetic
Why disease reduces welfare?
primarily because of the negative feelings that the animal experiences.
What are the negative feelings
that the animal experiences?
-Pain
Thirst, nausea, hunger
(inability to compete for food)
Secondary Problems
-Immobility
-Fatigue from immune response
is a particular concern with disease. Not all disease is painful.
Pain
this occurs because the forebrain evaluates sensory input from particular neural pathways as noxious.
Pain
The noxious stimulus is transmitted to the dorsal horn of the spinal cord where it is ‘_____________’.
processed
Untreated pain can cause sensitisation of the _____ _________
pain pathway
heightened perception of existing pain
Hyperalgesia
pain response to a low-intensity, normally non-painful,
stimulus
Allodynia
_____________ of the central nervous system by an acute disease may persist for several months
Sensitisation
you can assess pain using behavioural indicators
such as:
- altered posture
- altered demeanour
- gait
- inappetence
- increased respiratory and heart rate
- grinding teeth
Other causes of pain
*Injury, e.g.
*Routine procedures
*Fighting
*Slippery flooring
*Rough handling
*Parturition-
is another significant cause of pain, and some of it is the result of mechanical pressure on the pelvis during the birthing process
Parturition
animals may seem depressed and unresponsive to their surroundings
altered demeanour
lameness e.g. sheep with infected feet may graze while
kneeling on their front legs
gait
this is common in ruminants with visceral pain
grinding teeth
What are the clinical signs?
*Changes in behaviours
*Physical changes
*Production measures
You can measure the level of disease in a group of animals
by estimating the?
incidence and prevalence.
is the number of new cases in a fixed time period divided by the number of animals at risk.
Incidence
means the number of animals affected by the disease at any point in time. You calculate it by dividing the number of animals with the disease by the number of animals at risk.
Prevalence
is another area that farmers and the owners of
working animals will consult you about, because their
livelihood depends on the productivity of their animals
Production
is a function of the animal’s genetics, nutrition,
metabolism and management, and it may be modified by the
presence of stressors such as social instability, disease,
chronic pain, fatigue, etc.
Production
when we assess the ‘____________ ___________’ aspect of welfare, we not only need to measure the outputs of disease and production, we also have to include welfare inputs that affect disease and production.
physical functioning
Welfare Inputs:
*Genetics
*Biosecurity
*Vaccinations
*Helminth control
*Nutrition
*Transport
*Group size
*Dairy hygiene
*Use of analgesics for routine procedures
Welfare outputs:
*Incidence/prevalence of lameness, mastitis, bruised
carcasses, metabolic disease, culling, etc.
*Amount of antibiotics used
*Visits from the vet
*Somatic cell counts
*Production: fertility, growth rate, milk yield etc
can affect welfare by disrupting
physical function and creating feelings of pain, fatigue,
nausea, etc.
Disease and production
