Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study is to investigate the conformity of small-powered livestock with the ANI (Animal Needs Index) 35 L system for the purpose of evaluating the welfare of sheep and goats. Materials and Methods: The work was carried out on 61 enterprises, which operate in the Van or Edremit district and registered in the agricultural information system with 100 head and more small-head animals. Through the observation and measurement of, 7 different parameters were taken into account, including housing, 7 building and equipment status and 3 related to animal health. Results: According to the Protocol, the small-powered livestock enterprises in the Van or Edremit district have been determined to be in the middle-and-a-half parameters in terms of surface area per animal and food size; the structure and equipment state parameters in terms of low-and-a-half and animal health parameters in terms of middle-and-a-half points in terms of welfare categories. The protocol developed from the ANI 35 L system for the purpose of evaluating the well-being of sheep and goats has been determined that it can be used for the purpose of demonstrating the conformity of small-powered livestock to animal well-being criteria.

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Abstract:

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the small ruminant enterprises met animal welfare criteria by using the protocol derived from the ANI (Animal Needs Index) 35 L system to evaluate the welfare of sheep and goats. Material and Methods: The study was carried out on 61 enterprises located in Edremit district of Van province and registered in the agricultural information system, with more than 100 small ruminants. The enterprises were visited and 17 different parameters, including 7 housing, 7 structure and equipment conditions and 3 animal health, were taken into consideration through observation and measurement. Results: According to this protocol, the small ruminant enterprises in Edremit district of Van province were found to be in low-to-medium welfare category in terms of housing conditions parameters, excluding space allowance for each animal and feeder size, in low-to-medium welfare category in terms of parameters of structure and equipment, and in medium-to-high welfare category in terms of parameters of animal health. Conclusion: It was determined that the protocol developed from ANI 35 L system can be used in order to determine the conformity of small ruminant enterprises with animal welfare criteria.