Indicators Relevant to Farm Animal Welfare

Session I: General Outline.- Opening Remarks.- Animal Welfare Legislation.- The Problem of Assessing “Well-Being” and “Suffering” in Farm Animals.- Discussion.- Session II: Significance of Indicators Relevant to Animal Welfare.- Physiological, Biochemical and Biophysical Criteria in Assessing Animal Welfare:.- Significance of Physiological Criteria in Assessing Animal Welfare.- Short Contributions:.- Neuroendocrine Strategies for Assessing Welfare: Application to calf management systems.- Corticosteroids in Welfare Research of Laying Hens.- The Sleep-Waking Pattern and Behavior of Pigs Kept in Different Husbandry Systems.- Neurochemistry of Abnormal Behaviour in Farm Animals.- Discussion.- Ethological Indicators:.- On the Significance of Ethological Criteria for the Assessment of Animal Welfare.- Short Contributions:.- Stereotypies as Animal Welfare Indicators.- Ingestive Behaviour and Wing-Flapping in Assessing Welfare of Laying Hens.- Behavioural Tests to Quantify Adaptation in Domestic Animals.- Effect of Social and Environmental Factors on Performance in Gilts, Barrows and Boars.- Operant Conditioning in Farm Animals and its Relevance to Welfare.- Discussion.- Pathological Indicators.- An Ecopathological Approach for Assessing Risk Factors in Intensive Rearing Systems: Examples from Pig Production.- Short Contributions:.- Comparative Mortality and Morbidity Rates for Cattle on Slatted Floors and in Straw Yards.- Pathological Approaches to Evaluate Calf Boxes Under Animal Welfare Aspects.- I. Claw Lesions.- II. Pyloric Ulcers.- Results of a Methodical Approach with Regard to External Lesions of Sows as an Indicator of Animal Well-Being.- Discussion.- Production Performance:.- Significance of Production Performance Traits as Indicators of Animal Welfare.- Short Contributions:.- Farrowing Accomodation and Losses, Vitality and Daily Gain of Piglets as Indicators of Well Being.- Production Performance in Laying Hens Kept Under Different Housing Conditions.- Discussion.- Session III: Integrated Systems of Indicators Relevant to Animal Welfare.- Advantages and Problems of using integrated Systems of indicators as compared to single traits.- Short Contributions:.- Assessing of Housing Systems by Combined Indicators.- Application of an Integrated System of Indicators in Animal Welfare Research.- Discussion.- Session IV: Applicability of Indicators in Animal Welfare Research and in Control Procedures.- Applicability of Indicators in Animal Welfare Research.- The use of Ethological Welfare Indicators in Practical Control Procedures.- Discussion.- General Conclusions.- List of Participants.