2023-08-23 10:56:54
Campaign in which CONAFE collaborates with other institutions in the livestock sector
Submitted.- Animal health and welfare are multispecies research topics, supported by several underlying veterinary disciplines, such as epidemiology, virology, parasitology and bacteriology, and the scientific fields of ethology, preventive veterinary medicine and physiology. of stress The European Federation of Animal Science (EAAP) organizes a monthly series of webinars to inform, update and disseminate the latest scientific literature through high-profile speakers for individual EAAP members. The 17th EAAP webinar “Promoting animal health and welfare through pathogen control”, organized in collaboration with the EAAP Animal Health and Welfare Commission, aimed to support scientific debate on issues related to the health and welfare of all livestock species.
The presentation of Christian Ducrot from INRAE, in France, focused on “Animal health and welfare through pathogen control”, and took an interdisciplinary approach to animal health and farm animal welfare. The presentation began by explaining the traditional livestock approach to improving animal health, which focuses on protecting animals from pathogens, which also protects human health. This approach involves biosecurity measures to avoid contact with infectious agents, vaccination and eradication plans to control specific infectious diseases, and keeping animals indoors to control various environmental infectious and parasitic diseases. Pathogen control is one of the main means of prevention used by veterinarians to protect the health of animals on farms, as well as good environmental conditions and nutrition to contribute to resistance to infection and increase immunity, reducing the need for antibiotics.
Today, some farmers tend to refuse antibiotic treatment of sick animals in order to maintain the “antibiotic free” label. But this can cause poor animal health and have a negative impact on welfare, as antibiotics in certain conditions are necessary for good animal health and welfare. For this reason, there is strong demand from veterinarians and parts of the livestock sector for on-farm health and welfare monitoring tools and indicators, which are better for tracking the need for and use of antimicrobials. The same could hold true for parasite control.
Good animal health is one component that feeds into an animal’s general welfare standard. Having said this, it is clear that any pain, suffering and decrease in physical abilities caused by disease will have an impact on the welfare of that animal, so we can say that the control of pathogens results in less disease, better animal health and, consequently, a better general well-being. But there are also conflicting issues between pathogen control and welfare. As previously determined, pathogen control has a positive impact on animal and human health in the context of zoonotic diseases and remains a primary means of controlling infectious diseases. However, most means of pathogen control reduce the freedom of animals to express normal behavior, such as outdoor exploration and foraging. So how can we balance its positive and adverse effects?
There are different perceptions about the relationship between animal health and welfare. The main objective of veterinarians is to keep animals in good health, while some farmers prioritize maintaining good health and emphasizing the well-being of their animals. And, of course, today, the point of view of citizens and consumers has a great impact on the future of how we raise animals. A systematic review of public attitudes, perceptions and behaviors towards livestock production diseases associated with farm animal welfare indicates that those most concerned with welfare considerations are women, the younger generation and people with higher education. In addition, the measurement of natural behavior is another central component to determine animal welfare because it refers to animal behaviors and living conditions, such as sufficient space, freedom to behave according to natural instincts, and access to the outside. A farm animal’s ability to exhibit natural behaviors is so vital to its overall well-being that efforts to protect health at the expense of natural behavior are not supported. Depending on the stakeholders, pathogen control should not be preferred at any cost. It is necessary to analyze a balance, which may depend on the dangerousness of the pathogens, the zoonotic risk and crucial aspects of the control measures. Social concern tends to favor natural behavior to the detriment of animal health and the need for justification, explanation and communication to implement strong disease control measures.
Fuente: Artculo original de la European Livestock Voice
XXXIII Contest-Exhibition of Cattle of Las Regueras 2023
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