Animal Welfare Monitoring for the Australian Livestock Export Industry

Renee S Willis

The welfare of exported livestock is a significant area of community concern; however, a comprehensive, evidence-based welfare monitoring protocol has not yet been developed for the Australian live export industry. Achieving good welfare outcomes requires suitable environments and facilities and involves good management and appropriate care of livestock. Therefore, stock handling and husbandry practices are among the most critical factors affecting livestock welfare(Hemsworth and Coleman, 2011). Given that a stockperson’s behaviour is underpinned by their attitudes to animals, we surveyed those working in the industry about their understanding of animal welfare. The attitudes of workers are also fundamental to the adoption of increased animal welfare monitoring and implementing improvements. The surveyed live export industry workers (n=265) viewed animal welfare within their workplace as an important issue (99% of respondents), while the majority (60%) felt optimistic about improving animal welfare outcomes, 168 respondents provided ways they had done so in the past and 164 made suggestions for ongoing improvement. Assessing animal health and behaviour can determine how animals respond during transport and management procedures and may minimise risk. Thus, the primary aims of this research were to develop and pilot an assessment protocol feasible for livestock exported from Australia by sea. To identify a suitable suite of indicators and assessment system, a protocol based on Welfare Quality® and including additional animal-based measures, was compared against factors previously recognised to affect animal welfare during the live export process. Forty-five measures were piloted on ~ 1500 sheep and ~ 1200 beef cattle over six consignments shipped from Australia. Analyses showed activity and rest were identified as the predominant behavioural responses for both cattle and sheep within the live export supply chain. Behavioural analyses also identified heat responses, competition during feeding, and changes in human-animal responses as prevailing outcomes during sea voyages. The prevalence of disease and mortality varied but was generally low for both species. Limited associations were identified between behavioural outcomes and health conditions in sheep, although the interpretation of these associations is guarded due to low disease prevalence. Behavioural outcomes differed by voyage day and time of day, while variations in health and behaviour were detected between types of animals and pen location on the vessel. Varying wet bulb globe temperature was the most influential factor for both behaviour and health, followed by feeding management, manure pad conditions and sea swell. The findings of this study present a basis for a comprehensive monitoring protocol to report on the welfare impacts of transporting livestock by sea, and to better understand the interactions that environment and management may play on animal outcomes. The study demonstrated that industry workers care about the livestock they are responsible for and have a desire to participate in ongoing welfare reform. Identifying factors that influence welfare can help optimise animal management, recognise, and mitigate risk, and identify sustainable and non-sustainable practices. This research has laid the foundations for further studies with larger sample sizes and repeated measurements over various seasons that will allow continuous improvements in the management of exported livestock.

Animal Welfare Monitoring for the Australian Livestock Export Industry

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