P.H. Hemsworth

Human-livestock interactions : the stockperson and the productivity and welfare of intensively farmed animals

The ethics of animal farming - implications for the stockperson human-animal interactions and the productivity and welfare of farm animals the stockperson as a professional - skills, knowledge and status attitudes of stockpersons - their development, maintenance and implications stockperson behaviour - their development, maintenance and implications a model of stockperson-animal interactions and their implications for farm animals changing stockperson attitudes and behaviour, and the consequences for farm animals stockperson training and selection - the future.

Human–animal interactions in livestock production

Abstract Research in a number of livestock industries has shown that interactions between stockpeople and their animals can limit the productivity and welfare of these animals. While many of these interactions are routinely and, at times, habitually used by stockpeople, the frequent use of some of these routine behaviours can result in farm animals becoming highly fearful of humans. It is these high fear levels, through stress, that appear to limit animal productivity and welfare. This research has also shown that an important antecedent of stockperson behaviour is the attitude of the stockperson towards interacting with his or her farm animals. Intervention studies in the dairy and pig industries have shown the potential of cognitive-behavioural intervention techniques designed to specifically target those attitudes and behaviours of stockpeople that have a direct effect on animal fear, welfare and productivity. It is recommended that such cognitive-behavioural training programs for stockpeople are introduced in the livestock industries. Selection tools targeting the important human characteristics that affect work performance may also be valuable not only to select stockpeople but also to identify experienced and inexperienced stockpeople that require training. More extensive research is also required to identify the full range of stockperson interactions that have implication for farm animals. In addition to identifying the aversive elements of handling, the rewarding elements of human–animal interactions for animals should be identified and the opportunities to utilise these rewarding elements to alleviate some of the aversive interactions, that are at times necessary in livestock production, should be explored.

Behavioural response to humans and the productivity of commercial dairy cows

This study examined the relationships between the attitude and the behaviour of the stockperson towards cows and the behavioural response to humans and the milk production of cows at 31 commercial dairy farms over one lactation. The attitude of the stockperson was measured on the basis of the stockpersons opinion of the cows behaviour and how the stockperson evaluated his own behaviour. The behaviour of the stockperson was measured by recording the nature and frequency of the tactile interactions and some visual and auditory interactions directed towards the cows. The behavioural response of cows to humans was assessed by observing their approach behaviour to an unfamiliar experimenter in a standard test and production records were collected for the entire lactation at each farm. Correlation and regression analyses using farm averages were used to examine relationships between human and cow variables. Several cow behaviour variables, indicative of fear of humans, were moderately (P<0.05) to highly (P<0.01) correlated with milk yield and composition and regression analysis indicated that fear of humans accounted for 19% of the variation in milk yield between farms. The results suggest that at farms where milk yield was low, cows showed less approach to the experimenter in the standard fear test than at farms where milk yield was higher. A composite attitude score, based on the responses of stockpeople to questions about patting and talking to cows, ease of movement of cows and cows recognising unfamiliar stockpeople, was moderately (P<0.05) to highly (P<0.01) correlated with the behaviour of the stockperson. While a number of stockperson behaviour variables were correlated (P<0.05) with milk yield, the former variables were generally poorly correlated with cow behaviour. Therefore these preliminary findings provide evidence that, as seen in the pig industry, sequential relationships may exist between the attitude and behaviour of the stockperson and the behaviour and productivity of commercial dairy cows. Research is required to further examine these relationships because of the possible implications on cow productivity and welfare.

THE INFLUENCE OF HANDLING BY HUMANS ON THE BEHAVIOUR, REPRODUCTION AND CORTICOSTEROIDS OF MALE AND FEMALE PIGS

The influence of three handling treatments on the behaviour, reproduction and free corticosteroid concentrations was studied in 15 male and 30 female pigs. Two handling treatments, considered as pleasant and unpleasant, were imposed for 5 min, three times per week from 11 weeks of age. The third handling treatment involved minimal contact with humans from 11 weeks of age. In a 3-min test at 18 weeks, pigs in the pleasant treatment were quicker (P<0.01) to enter an area within 0.5 m of the experimenter and had more interactions (P<0.05) with the experimenter than pigs in the unpleasant and minimal treatments. Gilts in the unpleasant treatment had a lower (P<0.05) pregnancy rate at the second oestrus when mated to non-experimental boars than gilts in the pleasant treatment (33.3 and 87.5%, respectively). Boars in the unpleasant treatment had smaller (P<0.05) testicles at 23 weeks of age and attained a coordinated mating response at a later age (P<0.05) than boars in the pleasant treatment (53.2 and 63.3 cm2, and 192 and 161 days, respectively). In addition, pigs in the unpleasant treatment had higher (P<0.05) free corticosteroid concentrations in the absence of humans at 20 weeks (gilts) and 27 weeks (boars) than pigs in the pleasant treatment (boars and gilts combined, 2.4 and 1.7 ng ml−1, respectively). For many of the reproductive parameters, the effect of the minimal handling treatment was intermediate to that of the other two treatments. It was concluded that the unpleasant handling treatment resulted in a chronic stress response, with consequent adverse effects on reproduction.

The influence of inconsistent handling by humans on the behaviour, growth and corticosteroids of young pigs

The influence of 4 handling treatments on the behaviour, growth and free corticosteroid concentrations were studied in 32 young female pigs housed in individual pens. The pleasant treatment involved stroking the pig whenever it approached the experimenter, the unpleasant treatment involved forcing the pig away whenever it approached the experimenter and the inconsistent treatment was a combination of unpleasant and pleasant treatments (imposed at a ratio of 1:5). These 3 treatments were imposed for 3 min each, 3 times per week, from 7 to 13 weeks of age. The fourth treatment, minimal handling, involved minimal contact with humans during this 6-week period. Gilts in the pleasant and minimal handling treatments had higher (P < 0.05) growth rates and feed conversion efficiencies over the first 2 weeks of the study than gilts in the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments. The gilts in the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments had higher (P < 0.01) free corticosteroid concentrations in the absence of humans at 14 weeks of age and were more (P < 0.05) fearful of humans, as indicated by less approach to a stationary human, at 14 weeks of age than gilts in the pleasant and minimal handling treatments. It was concluded that the unpleasant and inconsistent handling treatments resulted in a chronic stress response with consequent adverse effects on growth performance. The implications of these results for the reproductive performance and welfare status of breeding pigs are discussed.

A study of the relationships between the attitudinal and behavioural profiles of stockpersons and the level of fear of humans and reproductive performance of commercial pigs

This study examined the relationships between the attitude of the stockperson, the behaviour of the stockperson, the level of fear of humans by sows and reproductive performance at 19 commercial farms. The attitude of the stockperson was measured with respect to the stockpersons opinion of the pigs behaviour and how the stockperson evaluated his own behaviour, and the observations on the stockpersons behaviour concentrated on the nature of the physical interactions directed towards pigs. The level of fear of humans by sows was assessed by observing their approach behaviour to an experimenter in a standard 3-min test. Some of the variables of the stockpersons attitude and behaviour were significant predictors of the level of fear of humans by sows. For example, the attitude of the stockperson towards petting pigs and the proportion of physical interactions by the stockperson that were negative (aversive) in nature were significantly (P<0.01) related to the time taken for sows to physically interact with the experimenter in the standard 3-min test. The level of fear of humans was highly associated with the reproductive performance of the sow. The time taken to enter an area within 0.5 m of the experimenter in the standard 3-min test was significantly (P<0.01) related to the farrowing rate of the sows. As a result of these relationships, it is not surprising that some of the variables of the stockpersons attitude and behaviour were good predictors of reproductive performance. For example, the attitude to the use of verbal effort in moving pigs and the number of physical interactions of an intence negative nature were both highly (P<0.01) related to the total litter size. These relationships demonstrate that there may be substantial potential to reduce the level of fear of humans by commercial sows, in order to improve reproductive performance, by employing stockpersons that have desirable attitudinal and behavioural profiles.

The influence of handling by humans on the behavior, growth, and corticosteroids in the juvenile female pig

The influence of two handling treatments by humans on the behavioral response to the presence of humans, growth performance, and total and free corticosteroid concentrations in the presence and absence of humans was studied in the female pig. The handling treatments, considered as pleasant and unpleasant, were imposed three times per week for 2 min in duration from 11 to 22 weeks of age. Gilts in the unpleasant handling treatment spent less (P < 0.01) time within 0.5 m of the experimenter and displayed fewer (P < 0.01) interactions with the experimenter in a 3-min test conducted at 25 weeks of age. In addition, gilts in this treatment had a slower (P < 0.05) growth rate from 11 to 22 weeks of age and had higher (P < 0.001 and P < 0.01) corticosteroid concentrations at rest and in response to the presence of the experimenter, respectively, at 24 weeks of age. It was concluded that the unpleasant handling treatment resulted in both chronic and acute stress responses.

Behavioural responses of domestic pigs and cattle to humans and novel stimuli

Two experiments were conducted on pigs and beef cattle to study whether or not regular exposure to either humans or novel objects resulted in stimulus-specific or generalised behavioural responses. Groups of pigs and cattle were allocated to one of three treatments: regular brief exposure to either (1) an experimenter handling the animals in a positive manner (Human treatment) or (2) three novel objects (Novel Object treatment) and (3) minimal contact with humans and novel objects (Minimal treatment). After 4 weeks of treatment, the behavioural responses of the animals to humans and novel objects were studied. Pigs in the Human treatment were quicker (P < 0.01) to physically interact with the experimenter in the Human Approach Tests than pigs in the other two treatments. Pigs in the Human treatment were also quicker (P < 0.05) to closely approach the experimenter than pigs in the Novel Object treatment. Cattle in the Human treatment spent more time (P < 0.05) close to the experimenter in the Human Approach Tests than cattle in the other two treatments. Furthermore, cattle in the Human treatment were also quicker (P < 0.01) to closely approach the experimenter than cattle in the Minimal treatment. Pigs in the Human treatment were quicker (P < 0.01) to approach within 0.5 m of the novel stimulus in the Novel Object Approach Tests than pigs in the Minimal treatment and there was a tendency for pigs in the Novel Object treatment to approach the novel stimulus more rapidly (P < 0.07) than pigs in the Minimal treatment. The approach behaviour of cattle to the novel object in the Novel Object Approach Tests was similar for the three treatments. The results of these experiments provide evidence that changes in the behavioural response of animals undergoing regular positive handling by humans is stimulus specific to humans. Furthermore, there was some evidence that the behavioural response of pigs, but not cattle, to the novel stimulus was affected by previous exposure to that stimulus and other novel stimuli.

The effect of individual and group housing on behavioural and physiological responses related to the welfare of pregnant pigs

Abstract The effects of four housing treatments (neck-tethers, stalls, a group indoors and a group in a paddock), imposed at 3–5 weeks after mating, were determined on the behaviour and physiology of 24 pigs. Behaviour observations were made 2–3 days after the treatments began and 4 and 9 weeks later, and physiological measurements were made 18 and 46 days after the treatments began. Pigs in tethers spent less time in active behaviours than all other treatments, and the pigs housed in stalls showed increased amounts of oral—Nasal behaviours such as manipulation of drinkers and licking/biting pen components (7% of observations) compared to all other treatments (3.1–4.8% of observations). The pigs in tethers had highest free corticosteroid levels “at rest” (2.2 ng ml −1 compared to an average of 1.4 ng ml −1 for the other treatments), a disrupted rhythm of corticosteroid levels and, at the second sampling period (9–12 weeks of pregnancy), a lower response to transport; these responses in the tethered pigs were associated with an increase in plasma glucose and a decrease in plasma urea levels. These physiological data indicate a chronic stress response and a significant metabolic cost resulting from housing pigs in tethers. The implications of the results to the welfare of pregnant pigs are discussed.

A survey of dog ownership in suburban Australia—conditions and behaviour problems

There has been an increasing emphasis in Australia on confining dogs to owner’s properties (household backyards) as a solution to problems of dog aggression. Therefore, there is a need to determine the social and physical conditions that make up the dog’s backyard environment and how these factors may affect dog behaviour and welfare. The aim of this study was to provide an overview of the conditions provided to dogs in suburban Melbourne (Australia) and any behavioural problems associated with these conditions. A survey of 203 dog owners across suburban Melbourne was conducted. The questionnaire consisted of questions relating to demographics, the dogs’ routine and confinement and what behaviours the owners observed in their dogs. The relationship between some of the environmental factors and the occurrence of problem behaviour was then examined. The main behaviour problems reported by owners were overexcitement (63%) and jumping up on people (56%). Some of the factors that were correlated with the occurrence of problem behaviours included how well the dog obeyed commands (P<0.01), whether the owner had owned a dog before (P<0.01) and how much time was spent with the dog (P<0.01). Dogs that had obedience training were more likely to obey commands than those that that did not (P<0.01) and large dogs were more likely to receive training than small dogs (P<0.01). These findings provide an interesting insight into some of the factors that may be related to the occurrence of behaviour problems in dogs.