DairyPost Africa • May 2014
11
Impact of
Animal Welfare
and Health on
Productivity
The term “animal welfare” has
recently emerged as a concept
that allowed society to express
ethical concerns regarding
inhumane treatment of animals
Dr. V. Yamo
While the concept is widely regarded as
very important, a universally accepted
definition of animal welfare does not exist;
interpretation of what animal welfare
means is dependent upon cultural, political,
religious, and scientific perspectives.
The World Animal Health Organization (OIE)
defines Animal welfare as how an animal is
coping with the conditions in which it lives.
An animal is in a good state of welfare if it is
healthy, comfortable, well nourished, safe,
able to express innate behaviour and if it is
not suffering from unpleasant states such as
pain, fear and distress. Good animal welfare
therefore requires disease prevention and
veterinary treatment, appropriate shelter,
management, nutrition, humane handling
and humane slaughter/killing. Animal
welfare refers to the state of the animal; the
treatment that an animal receives is covered
by other terms such as animal care, animal
husbandry and humane treatment. Animal
health can therefore be considered as one
aspect of the welfare of animals.
Animal welfare significantly contributes to the
animal’s heath and ultimately its productivity.
This is mainly because research has
determined that animals are generally more
sensitive and vulnerable to stress and suffering
which predisposes them to diseases. A farm
animal is constantly challenged by an array
of factors that may evoke stress responses.
Overcrowding, extreme temperatures, social
disruption, unfamiliar sounds, unfamiliar
or uncaring handlers, feed and water
restriction, immunization and disease are
common environmental factors that may
lead to stressed animals. Biological reactions
to stress comprise changes in behaviour,
neuroendocrine system, autonomic nervous
system and immune system leading to poor
health and production.
Demand of animal products to sustain
the high population growth has led to
intensification of farming systems. While
intensive animal production systems can
improve animal welfare due to better housing,
nutrition and health leading to a significant