Loi Federica, Pilo Giovannantonio, Franzoni Giulia, Re Rossana, Fusi Francesca, Bertocchi Luigi, Santucci Ugo, Lorenzi Valentina, Rolesu Sandro, Nicolussi Paola
Osservatorio Epidemiologico Veterinario Regionale della Sardegna, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna "G. Pegreffi", Via XX Settembre 9, 09125 Cagliari, Italy.
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna "G. Pegreffi", Via Duca degli Abruzzi 8, 07100 Sassari, Italy.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Mar 17;11(3):854. doi: 10.3390/ani11030854.
The need for animal welfare definition and assessment is increasing worldwide, and several studies have been conducted to help fill the knowledge gaps regarding the welfare of cattle. However, further studies are needed to provide valid synthetized measures for welfare evaluation. The aim of this study was to assess the welfare status of 16 Sardinian dairy cattle farms, based on the developed Animal Welfare and Biosecurity Evaluation checklist (AWB-EF) and the corresponding hematological, biochemical, and electrophoretic profiles of these animals. Considering the AWB-EF as gold standard, blood samples were collected from 230 Holstein breed dairy cattle, aged between 3 and 8 years, out of the periparturient period, and with no clinical signs of specific pathologies. Principal Component (PC) and correlation analyses were performed to simplify phenomena interpretation and assess positive/negative associations. Four PCs were able to explain 76% of the total variability, and six laboratory parameters were strongly associated with the AWB-EF score (Spearman's correlation coefficient ≥ 0.40, -Value < 0.05), reflecting the real health status of the animals. Given the complexity of animal welfare as a multidimensional concept and the need to include both animal-based and non-based measures in welfare evaluation, the present work represents a sound basis for future evaluation and veterinary health planning.
全球范围内对动物福利定义和评估的需求日益增加，并且已经开展了多项研究以填补有关牛福利方面的知识空白。然而，仍需要进一步的研究来提供有效的综合福利评估措施。本研究的目的是基于所制定的动物福利与生物安全评估清单（AWB-EF）以及这些动物相应的血液学、生物化学和电泳图谱，评估16个撒丁岛奶牛场的福利状况。将AWB-EF视为金标准，从230头荷斯坦品种奶牛采集血样，这些奶牛年龄在3至8岁之间，处于围产期之外，且无特定疾病的临床症状。进行主成分（PC）分析和相关性分析以简化现象解释并评估正/负关联。四个主成分能够解释总变异性的76%，并且六个实验室参数与AWB-EF评分密切相关（斯皮尔曼相关系数≥0.40，P值<0.05），反映了动物的实际健康状况。鉴于动物福利作为一个多维概念的复杂性以及在福利评估中需要纳入基于动物和非基于动物的措施，本研究为未来的评估和兽医健康规划奠定了坚实基础。
