1. D. Ostojić-Andrić, S. Hristov, M.M. Petrović,
V. Pantelić, S. Aleksić, D. Nikšić, M.
Dokmanović

2. 
injuriesinjuries ?

reproductivreproductiv
e diseasee disease

lamenesslameness
mastitismastitis

comfortcomfort

metabolicmetabolic
diseasedisease

life spanlife span

4. state of an animal as a response to its
attempts to cope with its
environment
to cope = to struggle
to gain control of mental and physical
stability

7. or
measurable character welfare indicators

9. Animal responseAnimal response to farming conditions
Coping resulting in certain physical, and mental changesphysical, and mental changes that are
measurable
Determing the current state of animalcurrent state of animal, including the impact of
management and enviroment
Intended for:Intended for:
- assessing the level of disruptionlevel of disruption caused by injury, disease and
malnutrition.
- providing information about the needs of animalsneeds of animals and affective statesaffective states such
as hunger, pain and fear
- assessment of the degree of physiological, behavioural, immunological and
other changes that animals exhibit in response

10. ● body condition ● time needed to lie downtime needed to lie down ●
collision with housing equipment ● lying outside the lying
area ● cleanliness● lameness ● integument alterations ●
coughing ● nasal discharge ● ocular discharge ● hamperedhampered
respirationrespiration ● diarrhea ● vulvar discharge ● milk somatic cell count ●
dystocia ● downer cows ● mortality ● agonistic behaviour ●
avoidance distance ● emotional stateemotional state ●
Welfare QualityWelfare Quality®®
Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009

11. include all indicators relatinclude all indicators relateded to farmto farm conditionsconditions
IntendedIntended forfor::
better understandingbetter understanding of the importance ofof animal - basedanimal - based indicators
to assess the welfare;
replacementreplacement for one animal - based indicatorsanimal - based indicators that are not reliable
or suitable for the assessment on the farms;
risk factorsrisk factors to animal welfare.

12. ● water provisionwater provision ● cleanliness of water points ●
water flow ● functioning of water points ● thermalthermal
comfortcomfort ● presence of tethering
● access to outdoor loafing area or pasture
●Welfare QualityWelfare Quality®®
Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009

13. include indicators that reflect farm managament practiceinclude indicators that reflect farm managament practice
IntendedIntended forfor::
supplementationsupplementation of data provided by the animal - based
indicators
to provide feedbackprovide feedback on risk of applied management to the
welfare of cows with the ability to apply appropriate corrections

14. ● housing system ● hoofhoof treatmenttreatment procedureprocedure ●
● presence of equipment-brushes for hygienepresence of equipment-brushes for hygiene ● mastitis controlmastitis control
● farm data recording method ● tail shortening ●
● dehorning ● use of anaesthesia and analgesia ●
Welfare QualityWelfare Quality®®
Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009Assessment Protocol for Cattle, 2009

16. ease and convenience implementation
to not be expensive,
to not take long,
to not disturb the normal technology process
on the farm
to allow an objective, valid and repeatable
results
input and output methods

17. numerious methods have been developednumerious methods have been developed
some are included in the legislationssome are included in the legislations
still actively questioned and supplementedstill actively questioned and supplemented
Animal Needs Index – ANI
EFSA risk assessment method for dairy cows
Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol for Cattle

18. assessment of risk to animal welfareassessment of risk to animal welfare
take into account:take into account:
- animal category, systems of breeding and management- animal category, systems of breeding and management
- various aspects of a welfare- various aspects of a welfare
- specific scenario of exposure to a hazard for welfare state- specific scenario of exposure to a hazard for welfare state
105 recommendations for the improvement of welfare105 recommendations for the improvement of welfare
enables faster action.enables faster action.

19. Welfare Quality project (FP6)Welfare Quality project (FP6)
standardized methodology forstandardized methodology for
assessmentassessment
practical strategies forpractical strategies for
improvementimprovement
information for farmers,information for farmers,
consumers and scientistconsumers and scientist
Indicators  Software analysis  Farm categorizationIndicators  Software analysis  Farm categorization

20. selection of indicators in assessment methodsselection of indicators in assessment methods
wide range of indicatorswide range of indicators
to include only most important and mostto include only most important and most
reliable indicatorsreliable indicators
to consider relevance, feasibility andto consider relevance, feasibility and
reproducibilityreproducibility
the significance of indicators is usuallythe significance of indicators is usually
defined on the basis of their impact ondefined on the basis of their impact on
various welfare problems.various welfare problems.

21. rank list of welfare indicatorsrank list of welfare indicators
Rank I n d i c a t o r s
Source Webster (2005) EFSA (2012)
11 Observing lamenessObserving lameness Observing lamenessObserving lameness
2 Examining health records
Observing hock, knee skin
lesions and swelling
3 Observing disease Colliding with equipment
4 Observing mastitis Teat injuries
5 Observing general demeanour Observing mastitis
6 Scoring body condition
77 Observing stockmanshipObserving stockmanship
8 Observing lying behaviour
99 Examining production recordsExamining production records
10 Observing skin lesions

23. conclusionconclusion
precise identification of welfare risk factors
and recommendations for their elimination
or at least reduction.
still, no ideal methodology for evaluation of
welfare
welfare quality protocol and efsa risk
assessment made great progress

24. conclusionconclusion
assessment emphasis is placed on the
animal - based indicatorsanimal - based indicators
problem of overall welfare assessmentoverall welfare assessment
complexity and duration on the farm:
 partialpartial welfare assessment based on the
purpose of assessment
 ability to assess overall welfare on the basis of
just one or few reliable indicatorsjust one or few reliable indicators

25. conclusionconclusion
Broad practical implementation of current
assessment methodologies over time should
enable better perception, analysis and even
the synthesis of the most relevant indicators
and assessment targets from different
methods…