News about Farm animals

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…

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.

Seminar about treatment of subclinical mastitis during the lactation

We are pleased to raise awareness of this on-line seminar on Wednesday the 21st of September, 2022 at 2:00-4:30 pm CEST.

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.

Benchmarking farm animal welfare – Ethical considerations when developing a tool for cross-country comparison

A tool enabling animal welfare to be benchmarked across countries would make it possible to monitor and compare the status of animal welfare at both disaggregated and aggregated levels.

Breeding Blues: An ethical evaluation of the plan to reduce calving difficulties in Danish Blue cattle

By P. Sandøe, L.F. Theut & M. Denwood (2018) Preprint version of contribution to the EurSafe 2018 Conference Abstract Danish Blue Cattle is a breed of cattle originating from the Belgian White Blue Cattle (BWB), a breed…

A study of associations between gastric ulcers and the behaviour of finisher pigs

By K.M.D. Rutherford, C.S. Thompson, J.R. Thomson, A.B. Lawrence, E.O. Nielsen, M.E. Busch, S. Haugegaard & P. Sandøe (2018) Livestock Science. Elsevier Abstract Gastric ulcers are a common condition in finisher pigs. …

Modeling the cost of eradicating livestock-associated methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

- in countries with a high proportion of positive herds By J. V. Olsen, F. F. Calvo-Artavia, P. Sandøe & N. Toft (2018) Preventive Veterinary Medicine. Elsevier Abstract Due to an increased incidence of human…

Animal Ethics Profiling of Vegetarians, Vegans and Meat-Eaters

By T.B. Lund, D.E.F. McKeegan, C. Cribbin, & P. Sandøe (2016) Anthrozoös. Routledge Abstract The aims of this study were to identify the animal ethical profile of vegetarians, vegans, and meat-eaters. Using…

Behavioural consequences of visual deprivation occurring early or later in the life of chickens

By P. M. Hocking, K. A. Haldane, E. A. Davidson, P. Sandøe & H. H. Kristensen (2015) Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Elsevier Abstract The development of behaviour in a line of chickens that are born sighted (rdd) but…

Can increased organic consumption mitigate climate changes?

L.R. Heerwagen, L.M. Andersen, P. Sandøe, & T. Christensen (2014) British Food Journal. Emerald Group Publishing Limited Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the evidence for a positive…

Injurious tail biting in pigs: how can it be controlled in existing systems without tail docking?

By R.B. D’Eath, G. Arnott, S.P. Turner, T. Jensen, H.P. Lahrmann, M.E. Busch, J.K. Niemi, A.B. Lawrence, & P. Sandøe (2014) Animal. Cambridge University Press Abstract Tail biting is a serious animal welfare and economi…

Transgenic livestock, ethical concerns and debate

By M. Gjerris, R. Huber, J. Jesper, I.A.S. Olsson & P. Sandøe (2013) Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technology. Springer Excerpt Glossary: Animal bioreactor Transgenic animal that produces recombinant…

The correlation of Qualitative Behaviour Assessments with Welfare Quality® protocol outcomes

- in on-farm welfare assessment of dairy cattle S.N Andreasen, F. Wemelsfelder, P. Sandøe & B. Forkman (2013) Applied Animal Behaviour Science. Elsevier Abstract The effort to develop methods for assessing animal…

Highlighting ethical decisions underlying the scoring of animal welfare

I. Veissier, K.K. Jensen, R. Botreau & P. Sandøe (2011) Animal Welfare. UFAW Abstract All systems of scoring animal units (groups, farms, slaughter plants, etc) according to the level of the animals’ welfare are based…

The Ethical and Welfare Implications of Large Litter Size in the Domestic Pig: Challenges and Solutions

By K.M.D. Rutherford, E.M. Baxter, B. Ask, P. Berg, R.B. DEath, S. Jarvis, K. K. Jensen, A. B. Lawrence, V. A. Moustsen, S.K. Robson, R. Roehe, F. Thorup, S.P. Turner & P. Sandøe (2011) Danish Centre for Bioethics and…

Breeding for behavioural change in farm animals: Practical, economic and ethical considerations

By R. B. D'Eath, J. Conington, A. B. Lawrence, I. A. S. Olsson & P. Sandøe (2010) Animal Welfare. UFAW Abstract In farm animal breeding, behavioural traits are rarely included in selection programmes despite their…

Genomic dairy cattle breeding: Risks and opportunities for cow welfare

By T. Mark & P. Sandøe (2010) Animal Welfare. UFAW Abstract The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential consequences of modern dairy cattle breeding for the welfare of dairy cows. The paper focuses on so-called…

Balancing the needs and preferences of humans against concerns for fishes

By P. Sandøe, C. Gamborg, S. Kadri & K. Millar (2009) Journal of Fish Biology. Wiley-Blackwell Abstract How can stakeholders within the fisheries community engage in constructive ethical discussions? Drawing on…