Improving Animal Welfare

Temple Grandin is Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Dr. Grandins work includes design of animal handling systems, research on livestock behaviour, and auditing animal welfare. She has visited 26 countries and has served on the OIE animal welfare ad hoc committee for slaughter. Her previous livestock books are: Livestock Handling and Transport, Genetics and the Behavior of Domestic Animals and Humane Livestock Handling. Her popular press books on animal behaviour have been both U.S. and international bestsellers. Throughout her career, Dr. Grandin has worked to combine scientific research results with practical application in the field. In the North America half, the cattle are handled in equipment she designed for meat plants. She has received awards for her work on animal welfare from both the livestock industry and animal welfare NGOs. She has swards from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The American Meat Institute, American Society for Animal Science and the Humane Society of the U.S.

A guide to practical evaluation and auditing of animal welfare problems, emphasizing the importance of measuring conditions that compromise welfare. It helps those working with animals to apply practical methods for improving welfare, bridging the gap between scientific research and practical application.

1. The Importance of Measurement to Improve the Welfare of Livestock, Poultry and Fish; 2. Why is Agricultural Animal Welfare Important? The Social and Ethnical Context; 3. Implementing Effective Standards and Scoring Systems for Assessing Animal Welfare on Farms and Slaughter Plants; 4. The Importance of Good Stockmanship and its Benefits for the Animals; 5. How to Improve Livestock Handling and Reduce Stress; 6. Painful Husbandry Procedures in Livestock and Poultry; 7. Welfare During Transport of Livestock and Poultry; 8. Animal Well-Being and Behavioral Needs on the Farm; 9. Improving Livestock, Poultry, and Fish Welfare in Slaughter Plants with Auditing Programs; 10. Recommended On-Farm Euthanasia Practices; 11. The Effect of Economic Factors on the Welfare of Livestock and Poultry; 12. Improving Animal Welfare: Practical Approaches for Achieving Change; 13. Practical Methods for Improving the Welfare of Horses, Donkeys, and Other Working Draught Animals in Developing Areas; 14. Successful Technology Transfer of Behavioral and Animal Welfare Research to the Farm and Slaughter Plant; 15. Why are Behavioral Needs Important?