Browsing by Author "Kells N"

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    Animal Welfare Assessment: Can We Develop a Practical, Time-Limited Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Cows in New Zealand?
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 19/10/2020) Sapkota S; Laven R; Müller K; Kells N
    Despite being a leading producer and exporter of dairy products, New Zealand has no industry-recognised welfare assessment protocol. A New Zealand-specific protocol is essential, as almost all dairy farms in New Zealand are pasture-based and housing is rarely used. Therefore, protocols developed for intensive cows are not suitable. The aim of this study was to develop a simple yet practical welfare assessment protocol that could be used to assess the welfare of a dairy herd during one visit timed to occur around milking. Six welfare assessment protocols and four studies of dairy cattle welfare assessments that had some focus on dairy cattle welfare at pasture were used, along with the New Zealand Dairy Cattle Code of Welfare, to identify potential assessments for inclusion in the protocol. Eighty-four potential assessments (20 record-based and 64 that needed assessing on-farm) were identified by this process of welfare assessments. After screening to exclude on-farm assessments that were not relevant, that had only limited practical application in pasture-based dairy cows or that required more time than available, 28 on-farm assessments remained, which were put together with the 20 record-based assessments and were tested for feasibility, practicality and time on two pasture-based dairy farms. Assessments were then identified as suitable, suitable after modification or not feasible. Suitable and modified assessments were then included in the final protocol alongside additional measures specific to New Zealand dairy farms. The final protocol included 24 on-farm assessments and eight record-based assessments. Further testing of these 32 assessments is needed on more dairy farms across New Zealand before the protocol can be used to routinely assess the welfare of dairy cows in New Zealand.
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    Assessment of Welfare in Transhumance Yak Hybrids (Chauris) in the Lower Himalayan Region of Nepal
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2024-03-08) Sapkota S; Laven R; Barsila SR; Kells N; Mueller KR; Dhurba DC; Webster J; Leury BJ
    In order to develop a yak/chauri-specific welfare assessment protocol, we sent a set of 31 potential welfare measures to 120 Nepalese experts and asked them to identify the measures that they thought would be useful and propose additional useful measures. Eighty-three experts responded, with 13 measures being identified by >50% of respondents as likely to be useful. These thirteen measures plus one new measure (hematology) were included in an assessment protocol that was tested in the second phase of this study in five chauri herds in two districts in northern Nepal. Animal-based evaluations along with sampling for mastitis, intestinal parasites, and hematology were undertaken during or just after morning milking. Resource- and record-based measures were assessed through structured interviews, with verifications on-site where possible. No chauris exhibited poor body conditions, skin injuries, significant locomotion issues, or significant subclinical mastitis. Fecal testing suggested a high prevalence of intestinal parasites at the herd level, while blood testing suggested no evidence of hematological abnormalities. However, for both results, we need more data to use these effectively as measures of welfare. The resource-based assessment revealed significant challenges across all resources, and veterinary services were reported as being inadequate. A high estimated annual mortality rate (10–21%) needs further investigation. This protocol provided a useful start towards developing a welfare assessment protocol for yak/chauri and identified issues that need addressing to optimize chauri welfare.
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    Evaluation of insensibility in humane slaughter of teleost fish including the use of electroencephalogram with a case study on farmed barramundi (Lates calcarifer)
    (Elsevier B V, 2024-09-15) Wahltinez SJ; Cohen S; Hardy-Smith P; Huynh C; Kells N
    Humane slaughter methods for fish are an important facet of responsible farming practice that can both minimise animal distress and improve product quality. In addition, consumers are increasingly demanding good welfare across all phases of farmed animal production, including at slaughter. As a result, many intergovernmental organisations, government bodies, and third-party certification schemes now include fish slaughter practices in their legislation, guidelines, and audit schemes. In order to be considered humane, slaughter methods should not be aversive to the fish and should result in rapid insensibility without recovery of consciousness prior to death. Where the act of slaughter does not cause immediate loss of sensibility, this should be preceded by an effective stunning method that induces rapid insensibility that is maintained until death. However, determining when fish are insensible is challenging. The effective evaluation of insensibility and stunning is important to prevent any suffering or distress that might occur when invasive killing methods, such as bleeding or evisceration, are used. Insensibility may be assessed using observable indicators such as fish behaviour, or objectively through measuring brain activity using electroencephalography. There is concern that observable indicators, such as opercular movement, righting responses, and spontaneous movement, may not be reliable signs of insensibility. It is therefore important to validate these observable indicators using objective measures, which can determine when electrical changes in the brain occur that indicate insensibility. Barramundi (Lates calcarifer) are an important aquaculture species that are farmed worldwide. Currently, this species is usually slaughtered by ice slurry immersion, a practice which has raised welfare concerns in other fish species. The objectives of this review are to provide background on current slaughter methods used for teleost fish, to summarise the methods used to evaluate insensibility in fish at stunning and slaughter, and to describe the current practices and future directions for the slaughter of farmed barramundi.
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    Pharmacokinetics and efficacy of a novel long-acting bupivacaine formulation for cornual nerve block in calves
    (Frontiers Media S.A., 2022-12-01) Venkatachalam D; Kells N; Chambers P; Jacob A; Ward N; Singh P; Soto-Blanco B
    Local anesthetics are commonly used in farm animals to provide analgesia for painful procedures but can cause adverse effects at high systemic concentrations. The pharmacokinetics and efficacy of a long-acting sucrose acetate isobutyrate (SAIB) bupivacaine formulation following cornual nerve block in calves were compared to lidocaine. Fourteen calves were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups (i) 5% Bupivacaine-SAIB (BUP-SAIB), n = 7; or (ii) 2% lidocaine (LID), n = 7. Cornual nerve block was performed, and duration of effective analgesia was evaluated by nociceptive threshold testing using a hand-held pressure algometer. Blood samples were collected at various time points and plasma concentrations were analyzed by HPLC. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using a non-compartmental model. The mechanical nociceptive thresholds showed that the novel formulation could desensitize the skin around the horn bud for 18.77 ± 8.88 h (range 8-36 h), compared to 0.79 ± 0.34 h (range 0.5-1.5 h) with lidocaine. The mean maximum plasma concentration (Cmax) of bupivacaine was 152.03 (SD 37.34) ng/mL and its Tmax was 0.39 (SD 0.13) h. The half-life of elimination was 32.79 ± 11.00 h and the rate of clearance was 0.12 ± 0.03 L h-1. No toxicity signs were seen after treatment in either group. The novel formulation produced long-lasting analgesia of several times greater duration than that produced by lidocaine. This study showed that the safety and efficacy of the SAIB formulation justifies further studies in a larger population of animals.
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    Practicability of a Time-Limited Welfare Assessment Protocol for Pasture-Based Dairy Farms, and a Preliminary Assessment of Welfare Outcome Thresholds
    (MDPI (Basel, Switzerland), 2022-09-19) Sapkota S; Laven R; Müller KR; Kells N; Bernabucci U
    This study assessed a new time-limited protocol developed for pasture-based cows across 23 dairy farms. The process started prior to milking with a questionnaire, followed by an assessment of resources (16 farms only) and behavioural observation of cows at pasture. Remaining animal-based measures were assessed during milking, usually by two assessors (one parlour based and one outside). The protocol proved to be practical and feasible with limited changes needed, except for the assessment of water availability and behaviour. As most cows could access only one water trough, distance between troughs was not a measure of water availability, while the observation of a large numbers of cows at pasture for 30 min resulted in few observations and an uncertain denominator (effective number of observed cows). Further research is needed to determine the best way of assessing water availability and cow behaviour in a time-limited assessment of pasture-based cows. Three animal-based measures (broken tails, dirtiness, and coughing) had mean values higher than the author-determined acceptable thresholds, while <50% of farms met trough cleanliness and track condition targets, and none met the criteria for shelter and shade. This was a sample of farms based on convenience, so more data are required to establish the representativeness of these results. Such testing should involve assessment of the repeatability and reliability of the measures in our protocol.