Understanding the Awareness, Knowledge, and Opinion of Dairy Cattle Welfare among Dairy Farmers in Keningau, Sabah

Animals

Rozaihan Mansor¹  Siti Zubaidah Ramanoon¹  Mohammed Babatunde Sadiq¹  Sharifah Salmah Syed-Hussain²  Wan Mastura Shaik Mossadeq³  Mohd Shahrom Salisi³  Sim Song-Lin⁴ 

[1] Department of Farm and Exotic Animal Medicine and Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Malaysia;Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Malaysia;Department of Veterinary Preclinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang Selangor, 43400 UPM, Malaysia;Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400 UPM, Malaysia;

关键词: dairy cattle welfare;    dairy farmers;    knowledge;    perception;    veterinarian;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ani11061750

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

This study aimed to assess the knowledge and opinions about DCW among dairy cattle farmers in Keningau, Sabah. A questionnaire was developed, validated, and administered by hand to 30 farmers. The data collected include farmers’ and farm demographics, and opinions regarding the criteria and indicators of DCW. Only 17 respondents (57%) had heard of “dairy cattle welfare” before this study. Nine farmers (30.0%) had poor knowledge about DCW criteria, whereas 13 (43.7%) and 8 (26.7%) farmers had satisfactory and good knowledge, respectively. Farmers with higher education, larger herd size, high production level, and exotic cattle breeds showed a better understanding. Farmers understood most of the indicators; however, opinions regarding cattle behavior during milking, their physical appearance and their lying down behaviour need to be improved. Nevertheless, 28 respondents ranked their animals’ welfare as either good or satisfactory, which further reflects a poor implementation of DCW measures. The main factors suggested by farmers to influence DCW in their herds were facilities, worker issues, management practices, and animal well-being. In conclusion, guidance from veterinarians and animal welfare specialists may be needed to improve the farmers’ understanding and practices of DCW.

【 授权许可】

Unknown