Welfare of cattle kept in intensive silvopastoral systems: A case report

Revista Brasileira de Zootecnia (Print)

Ceballos, Maria Camila¹  Naranjo Ramírez, Juan Fernando²  Paranhos da Costa, Mateus José Rodrigues³  Tarazona Morales, Ariel Marcel⁴  Cuartas Cardona, César Augusto⁴  Correa Londoño, Guillermo⁵ 

[1] Grupo de Estudos e Pesquisas em Etologia e Ecologia Animal, Jaboticabal, Brazil;Grupo de Investigación en Producción, Desarrollo y Transformación Agropecuaria, Medellín, Colombia;Universidad CES, Medellín, Colombia;Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia;Universidade Estadual Paulista, Jaboticabal, Brazil

关键词: animal emotion;    animal welfare;    appropriate behavior;    livestock;    sustainability.;   

DOI  :  10.1590/s1806-92902017000600002

学科分类：兽医学

来源: Universidade Federal de Vicosa

【 摘 要 】

The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of three different intensive silvopastoral systems (ISPS) on cattle animal welfare (AW) in Colombia. The three ISPS differed in area, plant composition, and grazing periods as follows: ISPS1 - low plant diversity in paddocks of 1200 m2, with grazing period of 24 h; ISPS2 - middle plant diversity in paddocks of 600 m2, with grazing period of 12 h; and ISPS3 - high plant diversity in paddocks of 600 m2, with grazing period of 24 h. Animal welfare was assessed using a wide range of criteria, which were integrated using L-spline functions and Choquet integrals to generate overall values. It was found that AW was good in all ISPS; the highest scoring criteria was for food and water, with 99, 97, and 100 points from a maximum of 100 for ISPSs 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Comfort showed values of 100 for all three systems, but good health was the most problematic criteria of the AW features with scores of 25, 40, and 36 for ISPSs 1, 2, and 3, respectively. All three ISPS showed excellent scores for appropriate behavior (82, 88, and 89). The welfare problems shown here were not specific to the individual ISPS, but were common to all livestock systems in the region. Despite the differences in diversity of plants, size of paddocks, and grazing period among the three ISPSs tested, all of them provide cattle with sufficient resources and a diverse environment, ensuring a good state of welfare to them.

【 授权许可】

Unknown