Selection of Meat Inspection Data for an Animal Welfare Index in Cattle and Pigs in Denmark
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Selection of Meat Inspection Data for an Animal Welfare Index in Cattle and Pigs in Denmark. / Nielsen, Søren Saxmose; Denwood, Matt; Forkman, Björn; Houe, Hans.
In: Animals - Open Access Journal, Vol. 7, No. 2, 94, 06.12.2017.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Selection of Meat Inspection Data for an Animal Welfare Index in Cattle and Pigs in Denmark
AU - Nielsen, Søren Saxmose
AU - Denwood, Matt
AU - Forkman, Björn
AU - Houe, Hans
PY - 2017/12/6
Y1 - 2017/12/6
N2 - National welfare indices of cattle and pigs are constructed in Denmark, and meat inspection data may be used to contribute to these. We select potentially welfare-relevant abattoir recordings and assess the sources of variation within these with a view towards inclusion in the indices. Meat inspection codes were pre-selected based on expert judgement of having potential animal welfare relevance. Random effects logistic regression was then used to determine the magnitude of variation derived at the level of the farm or abattoir, of which farm variation might be associated with welfare, whereas abattoir variation is most likely caused by differences in recording practices. Codes were excluded for use in the indices based on poor model fit or a large abattoir effect. There was a large abattoir effect for most of the codes modelled and these codes were deemed to be not appropriate to be carried forward to the welfare index. A few were found to be potentially useful for a welfare index: Eight for slaughter pigs, 15 for sows, five for cattle <18 months of age, and six for older cattle. The absolute accuracy of each code/combination could not be assessed, only the relative variation between farms and abattoirs.
AB - National welfare indices of cattle and pigs are constructed in Denmark, and meat inspection data may be used to contribute to these. We select potentially welfare-relevant abattoir recordings and assess the sources of variation within these with a view towards inclusion in the indices. Meat inspection codes were pre-selected based on expert judgement of having potential animal welfare relevance. Random effects logistic regression was then used to determine the magnitude of variation derived at the level of the farm or abattoir, of which farm variation might be associated with welfare, whereas abattoir variation is most likely caused by differences in recording practices. Codes were excluded for use in the indices based on poor model fit or a large abattoir effect. There was a large abattoir effect for most of the codes modelled and these codes were deemed to be not appropriate to be carried forward to the welfare index. A few were found to be potentially useful for a welfare index: Eight for slaughter pigs, 15 for sows, five for cattle <18 months of age, and six for older cattle. The absolute accuracy of each code/combination could not be assessed, only the relative variation between farms and abattoirs.
U2 - 10.3390/ani7120094
DO - 10.3390/ani7120094
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29211009
VL - 7
JO - Animals
JF - Animals
SN - 2076-2615
IS - 2
M1 - 94
ER -
ID: 186477449