Knowledge of potential synergies and trade-offs between housing and management factors for different aspects of animal welfare is essential for farmers who aim to improve the level of welfare in their herds. The aim of this research was to identify and compare housing and management factors...

Comfort Class offers each 110 kg growing-finishing pig housed at 2.4 m² with bedding in groups of 12 premium welfare to meet their behavioural needs. Conventionally housed, growing-finishing pigs in the Netherlands are allowed 0.8 m², based on 0.035 × BW^0.667. The extra space offered with Comfort...

In the Netherlands, the welfare of farmed fish is subject of growing public and governmental concern. Comparable to concerns regarding the intensity of terrestrial livestock production, stocking densities applied in fish farming have been highlighted as an important area of welfare concern. The...

Broiler farming is the fastest-growing animal production sector and broiler meat is the second most-consumed meat in the world. The intensification of broiler production often has a negative impact on the meat quality and carcass characteristics. Consumers, however, expect a quality product from...

Although the welfare of farm mink has been debated for decades, the status at mink farms has not previously been reported. Likewise, little is known about the variation in housing conditions and animal responses between mink farms, although relevant for identifying key opportunities and challenges. ...

Welfare-oriented regulations cause farmers worldwide to shift towards more welfare-friendly, e.g., loose housing systems such as aviaries with litter. In contrast to the traditional cage housing systems, good technical results can only be obtained if the behavior of hens is considered. With...

Animal-based welfare assessment is time consuming and expensive. A promising strategy for improving the efficiency of identifying dairy herds with poorer welfare is to first estimate levels of welfare in herds based on data that are more easily obtained. Our aims were to evaluate the potential of...

One million pet rabbits are kept in The Netherlands, but there are no data available on their behaviour and welfare. This study seeks to assess the welfare of pet rabbits in Dutch households and is a first step in the development of a welfare assessment system. In an internet survey, housing...

Shelter dogs are exposed to a variety of stressors. Among non-invasive techniques, hair cortisol concentration (HCC) is suggested an easy to collect biomarker for giving insight into long-term stress responses. We evaluated HCC as an indicator of long-term cortisol responses in dogs in an animal ...

This work describes the negative effects of the increasing demand for meat production on the health and welfare of chickens in intensive production systems, and the results of a 2016 survey on public concern on how chickens are produced. More than 7000 respondents from Brazil, China, Thailand,...