Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors
Dirty cattle have been commonly recorded in official animal welfare inspections in Sweden for years. The relevant authorities have initiated work to better understand the causes of dirty cattle, in order to improve compliance and standardize the grounds for categorizing a farm as non-compliant with...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/945 |
| _version_ | 1797539840566231040 |
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| author | Frida Lundmark Hedman Maria Andersson Vanja Kinch Amelie Lindholm Angelica Nordqvist Rebecka Westin |
| author_facet | Frida Lundmark Hedman Maria Andersson Vanja Kinch Amelie Lindholm Angelica Nordqvist Rebecka Westin |
| author_sort | Frida Lundmark Hedman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Dirty cattle have been commonly recorded in official animal welfare inspections in Sweden for years. The relevant authorities have initiated work to better understand the causes of dirty cattle, in order to improve compliance and standardize the grounds for categorizing a farm as non-compliant with welfare legislation when dirty animals are present. This study investigated the occurrence of dirty cattle in official animal welfare controls, on Swedish cattle farms, and examined farmers’ views on the reasons for non-compliance and on key factors in keeping animals clean. The data used were collected by animal welfare inspectors at the county level during the regular official inspections of 371 dairy and beef cattle farms over two weeks in winter 2020. In addition to completing the usual inspection protocol, the inspectors asked farmers a set of questions relating to why their animals were clean or dirty. Dirty cattle were found on 49% of the farms inspected, but only 33% of the farms were categorized as being non-compliant with Swedish welfare legislation. According to inspectors and farmers, dirtiness in cattle depends mainly on management routines, which is a promising result since routines can be improved. The results also revealed a need for better guidance for inspectors and farmers on when dirtiness should be categorized as non-compliance with animal welfare legislation. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:51:35Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b705821bc8d14744be1a798150b2671c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T12:51:35Z |
| publishDate | 2021-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-b705821bc8d14744be1a798150b2671c2023-11-21T13:04:15ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152021-03-0111494510.3390/ani11040945Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare InspectorsFrida Lundmark Hedman0Maria Andersson1Vanja Kinch2Amelie Lindholm3Angelica Nordqvist4Rebecka Westin5Department of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 234, 53223 Skara, SwedenDepartment of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 234, 53223 Skara, SwedenThe County Administrative Board in Halland, Slottsgatan 2, 30186 Halmstad, SwedenThe County Administrative Board in Kalmar, Regeringsgatan 1, 39186 Kalmar, SwedenThe County Administrative Board in Västra Götaland, Klostergatan 13, 53230 Skara, SwedenDepartment of Animal Environment and Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 234, 53223 Skara, SwedenDirty cattle have been commonly recorded in official animal welfare inspections in Sweden for years. The relevant authorities have initiated work to better understand the causes of dirty cattle, in order to improve compliance and standardize the grounds for categorizing a farm as non-compliant with welfare legislation when dirty animals are present. This study investigated the occurrence of dirty cattle in official animal welfare controls, on Swedish cattle farms, and examined farmers’ views on the reasons for non-compliance and on key factors in keeping animals clean. The data used were collected by animal welfare inspectors at the county level during the regular official inspections of 371 dairy and beef cattle farms over two weeks in winter 2020. In addition to completing the usual inspection protocol, the inspectors asked farmers a set of questions relating to why their animals were clean or dirty. Dirty cattle were found on 49% of the farms inspected, but only 33% of the farms were categorized as being non-compliant with Swedish welfare legislation. According to inspectors and farmers, dirtiness in cattle depends mainly on management routines, which is a promising result since routines can be improved. The results also revealed a need for better guidance for inspectors and farmers on when dirtiness should be categorized as non-compliance with animal welfare legislation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/945assessmentattitudesherd levellawclean cattlemanagement routines |
| spellingShingle | Frida Lundmark Hedman Maria Andersson Vanja Kinch Amelie Lindholm Angelica Nordqvist Rebecka Westin Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors Animals assessment attitudes herd level law clean cattle management routines |
| title | Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors |
| title_full | Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors |
| title_fullStr | Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors |
| title_short | Cattle Cleanliness from the View of Swedish Farmers and Official Animal Welfare Inspectors |
| title_sort | cattle cleanliness from the view of swedish farmers and official animal welfare inspectors |
| topic | assessment attitudes herd level law clean cattle management routines |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/4/945 |
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