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Welfare assessment in sheep
Author(s) -
Goddard Pete
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
in practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.211
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 2042-7689
pISSN - 0263-841X
DOI - 10.1136/inp.d7316
Subject(s) - welfare , flock , livestock , animal welfare , production (economics) , resource (disambiguation) , public economics , business , veterinary medicine , environmental resource management , computer science , medicine , biology , economics , ecology , microeconomics , market economy , computer network
Protocols for the assessment of welfare in sheep are not as well developed or validated as in other livestock species. However, it is possible to use a number of animal‐ and resource‐based measures to indicate the standard of animal welfare in sheep flocks. This article considers the potential indices that can be implemented when assessing welfare in sheep, and reflects on what difference this might make to the animals themselves. In addition, it highlights how these might be tailored to individual production units in order to make them more relevant and, hence, maximise welfare.