Before Covid-19 spread, hardly a day went by without animal welfare making the news: unacceptable slaughter conditions, practices such as killing male chicks at birth or castration without pain relief, excessive animal densities in some livestock buildings…
Animal welfare is a complex issue with many facets: freedom from stress, good physical health, comfort, the opportunity for positive experiences such as social interaction… Ensuring animal welfare therefore means taking all these facets into account.
Twelve welfare criteria
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Animal-welfare researchers drew up a list of twelve criteria that must be met to ensure animal welfare. Indicators were developed for each criterion. For example, a clinical examination is used to check that an animal is free from disease, while its interactions with other members of its group are observed to assess group cohesion, etc.
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