News about Farm animals

Avian Influenza Group participated in the SVEPM 2024 Conference

The avian influenza epidemiology research influenza group participated in the annual SVEPM conference in 2024 with 5 contributions. Yangfan Liu showcased her work on a mathematical model for the spread of avian influenz…

Researcher: Seven billion newly hatched chicks are killed every year – but a ban is not the solution

Annually, the global egg industry kills seven billion day-old male chicks because they don’t lay eggs and aren’t worth raising for meat. While several countries have banned the practice, neither bans nor other current…

EU-project PREPARE4VBD held Annual meeting in Kenya

The PREPARE4VBD Project held their 3rd Annual Consortium meeting and summer-school in Kenya.

Relationship between animal-based on-farm indicators and meat inspection data in pigs

This study aimed to validate slaughterhouse indicators collected during meat inspection as an alternative to on-farm animal welfare indicators.

Are biters sick? Health status of tail biters in comparison to control pigs

The findings of this paper show that behavioural tests might be helpful in identifying tail biters among pigs and highlight the need for appropriate and adjusted nutrient and mineral supply, especially with regard to…

Doing your field work abroad?

Rikke Louise Jensen and Nanna Schødt Hansen were offered the opportunity to do their field work for their MSc thesis in Kenya - an adventure beyond their wildest dreams.

New antimicrobial susceptibility panels for MIC testing of respiratory pathogens in cattle

Respiratory infections are by far the most important indication for antibiotic treatment in calves and beef cattle. These infections can be caused by a number of different viruses and bacteria.

Comparison of three different measuring devices of ammonia and evaluation of their suitability to assess animal welfare in pigs

Witt, J., Krieter, J., Schröder, K., Büttner, K., Hölzel, C., Krugmann, K. & Czycholl, I. (2023) Livestock Science. Elsevier Abstract Since negative effects of ammonia (NH3) on health and productivity are known NH3…

CPH Cattle Seminar 2023

On Tuesday 12 December 2023 CPH Cattle held their anual seminar with presentations and discussions about research and strategies related to the cattle sectors challenges.

Ethicists’ commentary on standards of euthanasia for moribund fish in aquaculture

Ethical question of the month, August 2023 A priority of agriculture and aquaculture veterinarians is to ensure a quick and humane death upon slaughter. In ideal conditions, techniques are constantly monitored, assessed…

Dairy cattle welfare – the relative effect of legislation, industry standards and labelled niche production

In this paper, the authors compared animal welfare provisions in dairy cattle production across five countries with different combinations of legislative and other approaches: Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden,…

Willingness-to-pay for reduced carbon footprint and other sustainability concerns relating to pork production

In this 2022 questionnaire-based study, we investigated willingness-to-pay for more sustainable pork among consumers in Denmark, Germany, the UK and Shanghai, China.

Ethicists’ commentary on expertise and personal views when advising clients

Ethical question of the month, February 2023 I’ve been asked by a client if getting into chicken farming is too risky given what’s happening with avian influenza. This client has inherited a farm that can hold up to 30…

Various ways towards animal product limiting - practical and social engagements in dietary change

This paper explores how people engage in the practicalities of animal product limiting and how they communicate about the dietary changes they are making in interpersonal interactions.

Ethicists’ commentary on hierarchies of animal “value”

Ethical question of the month, January 2023 A recent media article on the needs of chimpanzees that are “so closely related to humans” caused me to reflect that people, including veterinarians, tend to ascribe more valu…

Multidimensional sustainability assessment of pig production systems at herd level – The case of Denmark

Pig production systems vary in their ability to meet key sustainability goals such as lowered environmental impact, lowered climate impact, reduced land use, economic viability, and improved animal welfare. These goals…

Newsletter January 2023

The overall goals of EliteOva have since the start on Dec 1, 2017, been to implement ultrasound-guided ovum pick up (OPU) as well as in vitro production (IVP) and genomic selection of embryos in Danish cattle breeding…

Danish milk consumers are critical of advanced breeding methods in dairy production

Danish milk consumers are critical of advanced breeding methods in dairy production, but only 1 in 5 is unwilling to drink milk from dairy cows bred with semen derived from such methods Lund, T.B., Sandøe, P., Secher,…

CPH Cattle Seminar 2022

The CPH Cattle annual seminar was held on the 24th of November 2022.

Webinar with Associate Professor Nick Bell, University of Nottingham, UK.

in the network for health and biosecurity under the Danish cattle research coordination committee, we were pleased to have held an open webinar, which can be seen on video.

Ethicist’s commentary on use of Ventilation Shut Down

Ethical question of the month, December 2021 Ventilation Shut Down (VSD) and VSD 1 (the plus is the addition of heat or CO2) is a mass depopulation method employed in barns in “constrained circumstances” by the poultry…

Market driven initiatives can improve broiler welfare – A comparison across five European countries

Market driven initiatives can have a strong impact on improving broiler welfare, building on those standards achieved by animal welfare legislation.

Positive animal welfare: Bridging the gap or raising inequalities worldwide?

This paper takes a comparative approach to the ways animals are kept in various parts of the world, and highlights the opportunities and potential barriers to promote positive animal welfare in a global context.

Benchmarking Farm Animal Welfare — A Novel Tool for Cross-Country Comparison Applied to Pig Production and Pork Consumption

To enable cross-country comparisons of pig welfare, a number of welfare dimensions, covering the features typically modified in legislative and market-driven welfare initiatives aimed at pig production, were defined.