unit 3: animal health & welfare chapters 21 & 23

Unit 3: Animal Health & Welfare

Chapters 21 & 23

• Unit 3 Objectives:– Knowledge of health challenges in animals– Understanding of basic disease principles– Appreciation for the proper use of

pharmaceuticals– Comprehension of animal welfare issues

within agriculture– Discussion of ethical principles– Animal welfare vs. animal rights and the

public


• Mortality vs. Morbidity– Death loss– Sick loss– Costly to profit

• Disease– Any variation from what is considered normal

health• Physiological, anatomical, or chemical


• Noninfectious disease– Injury– Genetics– Toxic poisoning from ingested materials– Poor nutrition

• Infectious disease– Bacteria, viruses, protozoa, parasites– Contagious disease


• Prevention– Which is better, prevention or treatment?– Components of a Herd Health Mgmt. Program

• Vet assisted planning• Sanitation• Proper nutrition• Record analysis• Physical facilities• Source of livestock• Proper medication use• Minimized stress• Personnel training


• Planning w/ a Vet– Visit schedule– Training of employees– Useful record keeping– Necropsy

• Sanitation– Many disease causing microorganisms live &

multiply outside the body– Manure and other organic waste are ideal

environments for their growth


– Proper sanitation includes regular cleaning of facilities

• Kills microorganisms due to temperature & drying

– Antiseptics• Applied to animal tissue to kill or prevent growth of

microorganisms

– Disinfectants• Destroy pathogenic organisms, used on inanimate

objects


• Proper Nutrition– Must keep the animal healthy– Especially important during stress

• Record Analysis– Does a health problem really exist?– Identify health problems & treatment protocols

• Physical Facilities– Injury or stress– Even proper facilities can cause problems if

not managed effectively


• Source of Livestock– Key to preventing outside health problems

from entering your herd– Important points

• Purchase from reputable sources• Controlled exposure to people & vehicles• Provide sanitary clothing & boots to employees &

visitors• Quarantine of new animals• Controlling pests• Keep animals out of drainage areas


– Biosecurity Plan• Management of all the issues regarding movement

of disease causing pathogens to/from your herd by whatever means possible that might affect herd health

• Plan includes?

• Proper Medication use– Biologicals-used to prevent disease

• Examples?• What do they do?


– Pharmaceuticals-treat disease• Examples?• What do they do?

– Administration• 4 ways to administer medications

1. Topically

2. Orally– Through feeding, drenching, or balling gun


3. Injection– Subcutaneous (SubQ)– Intramuscular (IM)– Intravenous (IV)– Intramammary– Intraperitoneal– Intrauterine

4. Intranasally


• Medications come in many forms– Liquid– Powders– Boluses– Drenches– Feed additives

• Stress– Any environmental factor that causes a

significant change in the animal’s physiological processes

– Examples?


• Personnel Training– Difficult to manage– Can be a difference between what the

owner/manager sees as problems and what employees observe

– Affects Quality Assurance


• Detecting Unhealthy Animals– Early identification is critical– Signs of sickness

• Loss of appetite• Listlessness or depression• Droopy ears• Humped back, or head down• Isolation• Coughing, wheezing, or labored breathing• Stiff or labored movement


– Vital Signs• Body temperature

– Taken rectally– Elevation caused by overheating or infectious disease– Subnormal indicates chilling, or critical condition

• Respiration rate• Heart rate

– Effective observation is Key!



Animal Normal Temp.

Resp. Rate

Per min.

Heart Rate

Per min.

Cattle 101.5 30 60-70

Swine 102.0 16 60-85

Sheep 103.0 19 60-120

Goat 102.0 15 70-135

Horse 100.5 12 25-70

– What are some major diseases?• Beef Cattle• Dairy Cattle• Swine• Horses

• Quality Assurance– Ensures that producers are producing

products that wholesome, and offer consumers the highest degree of confidence


– Basic components of a good QA program1. List of critical control points

2. Develop & implement improved mgmt. practices

3. Ongoing monitoring

4. High level of employee training


• Assignment for the first half of Unit 3– Review Questions of pg. 374– Identify the disease challenges you face at

home, and what you do to manage them


• Issues facing animal agriculture today– Environment– Diet-health– Animal rights– Socioeconomic– Food safety


• Special interest groups– Narrow set of concerns and agendas– Tends to be skewed toward upper-middle-

class membership• Unlikely that they represent a true cross section

politically or socially• Communications they send to decision-makers

tend to be skewed as well

– Have the ability to pressure government into making decisions


– Number of special interest groups is growing– Also indications that they are forming

coalitions to combine resources and power• Over 71,800 sites referring to “animal activist” on

the web

– Vital that they stay in the public eye by whatever means possible


• Animal agriculture monitors these issues carefully– Help to promote stewardship– Wholesome food production– Careful animal husbandry practices– Proper response to issues– Areas we need to improve

• Membership motivation• Proactive positions w/ media, gov’t, and public• More financial support


• Assessing Risk– Risk assessment becomes important as we

evaluate virtually everything in animal agriculture

– Major issues tend to fall in 4 categories1. Animal welfare

2. Diet-health

3. Environmental impact

4. Food safety


• Urban sprawl continues to cause problems with agriculture– Rural PA survey

• 33% complained about a neighboring farm– 57% concerned about odor– 18% flies

• Only 5% response rate


• Animal Welfare– Tends to be a continuum of these groups

• Animal Exploitations• Animal Use• Animal Control• Animal Welfare

– Humane Societies

• Animal Rights• Animal Liberationists


– Animal welfare is not an Us vs. Them theme• There are many issues to consider• Animals do have rights which dictate that we must

have good animal husbandry practices to assure good animal welfare

– Modern animal welfare concerns• Production diseases• Large animal units• Physical & psychological deprivation due to

confinement


– Concerns w/ animals in research• No suffering of pain• No repeated invasive experiments• Use of anesthesia when performing studies w/

drugs that cause paralysis• Husbandry & housing should fit the animal• Oversight is necessary

• These issues are not going away, we must find a way to deal with them and educate the consumer


• Biotechnology– Application of physical, chemical, and

engineering principles to biological systems• Blood factor VIII (hemophilia)

– Genetic Engineering• ~20% of people have negative perception• Wide range of perceptions• However, a 2000 survey resulted in the following:

– 57% approved if it improved the taste of food– 69% if it increase food production– 73% if pesticide use was reduced


• Example bST– 5-15# increase in milk/d– 2-10% increase in feed efficiency– Completely safe to humans

• Example Cloning– Low survival rate– Accelerated aging– Low reproductive efficiency– Increase birth weight– High cost ($15,000)


• Environmental Issues– Many agencies, public and private, have been

created as a result of concern over the environment

– Waste Management• Manure management

– Use as fertilizer has both economic and environmental benefits

• Odor Control• Give some examples of new technologies in waste

management


– Water Utilization & Quality• Key issues

– Nonpoint source pollution– Direct ground or surface water contamination– Amount of water used in agriculture

• Most prevalent in the West and Southwest

– Federal Lands• Nat’l Parks, forests, etc.

– Endangered Species• Act passed in 1973• >7000 listed species


– Global warming• Issue w/ agriculture due to methane production

from ruminants• No consensus as to whether global warming is

actually occurring

• Methane 2nd to CO2 on list of important greenhouse gases

• Also produced by anaerobic fermentation from:– Wetlands– Bogs– Rice paddies


• Realistically– Methane only accounts for 18% of greenhouse gases– Ruminants produce only 7% of world’s methane

– Conversion of Agricultural Land• Challenges preservation of wildlife habitat and food

production capability

• Consumer Issues– Diet and Health

• Has great effect on our industry



• Ex. Beef has been allegedly linked to heart disease & cancer

• Be wary of Junk Science – Warnings that have no or little factual basis– Quick-fixes– Good vs. Bad foods– Simple conclusions from complex studies or studies that

have not been peer reviewed– Invalid studies or recommendations


• So, what is the cause of Atherosclerosis (plugging of the arteries)?

– No conclusive evidence to support that diets high in saturated fats cause heart disease

• Saturated Fats– Animal fat

• Polyunsaturated Fats– Vegetable fats

• Cholesterol– We need 2,000 mg/d– Dietary intake on ave. is 600 mg– Body makes ~1,400 mg/d– Not used unless it can bind w/ a water soluble protein


• Dietary Guidelines Alliance– Be realistic-w/ small incremental changes in eating &

exercise– Be adventurous-try new foods– Be flexible-balance food consumption & exercise– Be sensible-enjoy all foods, don’t overeat or have huge

portions– Be active


– Food Safety• U.S. consumers enjoy the most plentiful food

supply in the world, and arguably the safest• Joint responsibility

– Producers– Processors– Consumers

• Dangerous Temperature Zone– 40 to 140° F


• Food Hazards1. Microbial contamination

2. Naturally occurring toxins

3. Environmental contaminants

4. Pesticide residues

5. Food additives

– Microorganisms– Molds, yeasts, bacteria, parasites, viruses– Disease causing MO’s called pathogens


• Residues– Pesticides– Hormones– Food additives– Organic animal products have no significant influence on

residues compared to conventional

• Organic & Natural Products– Guidelines

» Edible poultry must from birds grown organically from d 2 of life

» Milk products must come from cows managed organically for >1 yr.

» Breeding stock cannot be purchased in the last 1/3 of gestation


– Further provisions regarding feedstuffs, health products, records, and management

• Catastrophic Disease Outbreaks– BSE

• Summary

• Assignment for second half of Unit 3– Find 3 websites of Animal Rights/Welfare

organizations– Explain their agenda, and respond

unit 3: animal health & welfare chapters 21 & 23

Documents

animal health welfare3

animal health welfaremortality

animal health welfareunit

animal health welfarechapters

animal rights

animal tissue

animal welfare issues

knowledge of health