Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management
It may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance of a natural social network for farmed animal speci...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2014-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/1/93 |
| _version_ | 1819293569813315584 |
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| author | Paul Koene Bert Ipema |
| author_facet | Paul Koene Bert Ipema |
| author_sort | Paul Koene |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | It may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance of a natural social network for farmed animal species. Social Network Analysis (SNA) facilitates the characterization of social networking at group, subgroup and individual levels. SNA is currently used for modeling the social behavior and management of wild animals and social welfare of zoo animals. It has been recognized for use with farm animals but has yet to be applied for management purposes. Currently, the main focus is on cattle, because in large groups (poultry), recording of individuals is expensive and the existence of social networks is uncertain due to on-farm restrictions. However, in many cases, a stable social network might be important to individual animal fitness, survival and welfare. For instance, when laying hens are not too densely housed, simple networks may be established. We describe here small social networks in horses, brown bears, laying hens and veal calves to illustrate the importance of measuring social networks among animals managed by humans. Emphasis is placed on the automatic measurement of identity, location, nearest neighbors and nearest neighbor distance for management purposes. It is concluded that social networks are important to the welfare of human-managed animal species and that welfare management based on automatic recordings will become available in the near future. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-24T04:12:31Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eaf817063ca2486a9461e2186bf9abaa |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-24T04:12:31Z |
| publishDate | 2014-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-eaf817063ca2486a9461e2186bf9abaa2022-12-21T17:16:02ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152014-03-01419311810.3390/ani4010093ani4010093Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal ManagementPaul Koene0Bert Ipema1Department of Animal Welfare, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, P.O. Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, The NetherlandsDepartment of Farm Systems, Wageningen UR Livestock Research, P.O. Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, The NetherlandsIt may become advantageous to keep human-managed animals in the social network groups to which they have adapted. Data concerning the social networks of farm animal species and their ancestors are scarce but essential to establishing the importance of a natural social network for farmed animal species. Social Network Analysis (SNA) facilitates the characterization of social networking at group, subgroup and individual levels. SNA is currently used for modeling the social behavior and management of wild animals and social welfare of zoo animals. It has been recognized for use with farm animals but has yet to be applied for management purposes. Currently, the main focus is on cattle, because in large groups (poultry), recording of individuals is expensive and the existence of social networks is uncertain due to on-farm restrictions. However, in many cases, a stable social network might be important to individual animal fitness, survival and welfare. For instance, when laying hens are not too densely housed, simple networks may be established. We describe here small social networks in horses, brown bears, laying hens and veal calves to illustrate the importance of measuring social networks among animals managed by humans. Emphasis is placed on the automatic measurement of identity, location, nearest neighbors and nearest neighbor distance for management purposes. It is concluded that social networks are important to the welfare of human-managed animal species and that welfare management based on automatic recordings will become available in the near future.http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/1/93Social Network AnalysisSNAcaptive animalsanimal managementapproach-avoidance behavioranimal welfareUrsus arctosEquus caballusGallus gallus domesticusBos taurus |
| spellingShingle | Paul Koene Bert Ipema Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management Animals Social Network Analysis SNA captive animals animal management approach-avoidance behavior animal welfare Ursus arctos Equus caballus Gallus gallus domesticus Bos taurus |
| title | Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management |
| title_full | Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management |
| title_fullStr | Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management |
| title_short | Social Networks and Welfare in Future Animal Management |
| title_sort | social networks and welfare in future animal management |
| topic | Social Network Analysis SNA captive animals animal management approach-avoidance behavior animal welfare Ursus arctos Equus caballus Gallus gallus domesticus Bos taurus |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/4/1/93 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT paulkoene socialnetworksandwelfareinfutureanimalmanagement AT bertipema socialnetworksandwelfareinfutureanimalmanagement |