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Components of the Human – Farm Animal Relationship Components of the human – farm animal relationship A literature review Vonne Lund _____________________________________________________________________________ SLU Specialarbete 8 Institutionen för husdjurens miljö och hälsa Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Skara 1999 Faculty of Veterinary Medicine ISSN 1402-3342 Department of Animal Environment and Health ISBN 91-576-5672-X _____________________________________________________________________________ 2 Table of content ABSTRACT 5 INTRODUCTION 7 THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF THE HUMAN - FARM ANIMAL RELATIONSHIP 9 Problems encountered when studying the interaction 10 Registration of animal responses to the interaction with humans 11 Animal response 11 Behavior and other clinical responses 11 Subclinical registrations 13 Techniques used to include the human caretaker in the study 14 Skilled observation and participant observation 14 Content study and socialization study 14 Self assessment and peer rating assessment 14 Attitude and intervention studies 14 The basis for a good relation 15 The human interaction 15 Components due for a good relation 17 Individuality 18 Effects of domestication 19 The effect of the domestication process 19 Tameness and fear response 20 Implications of fear 21 Genetic differences 23 HOW DO FARM ANIMALS PERCEIVE THE HUMAN CARETAKER? 25 The human role 25 The experiential component of tameness/fear 26 Early handling and critical times for habituation 27 Food awards 30 Ability for discrimination 31 Cues for identification 31 Discrimination between humans and other stimuli 31 Discrimination between humans 32 Importance of the environment 35 3 HOW DOES THE HUMAN CARETAKER INFLUENCE THE RELATIONSHIP? 37 Pleasant or aversive handling – does it matter? 37 Pleasant handling 38 Aversive or threatening action 39 Inconsistent handling 39 Effects on production 40 Indications of a chronic stress response 42 Effects on behavior, ease of handling, animal welfare and product quality 43 Effects of stockman personality and attitudes 44 Attitude and beliefs 47 Vocal interaction as reflecting stockman attitude 49 Aggression 50 “Stockmanship” – managing the interaction 50 Definitions 50 “Eye for the animals” 52 Human habituation – the importance of setting good examples 53 Effects of modern technology on the human – animal relation 53 Large scale animal husbandry 55 DISCUSSION 57 The study of the human - farm animal relationship 57 Animal reactions to human handling 57 The human component 59 Practical consequences 61 Daily interaction and routines 61 Minimize fear of humans through habituation 62 Minimize the effects of unavoidable negative handling 63 Assessment of animal individuality ("temperament") 64 The effects of modern technology 64 Conclusions 65 SUMMARY 67 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 69 LITERATURE 71 4 Abstract Although the relationship between the farm animal and its environment has been extensively studied for the past 30 years, the relationship between the human caretaker and the farm animal has quite recently become focus for scientific interest. This literature study covers the scientific literature published in the latter field until 1998 dealing with cattle, pigs and poultry. It has been undertaken as part of a comprehensive project studying the relationship between the human caretaker and the farm animal, including ethical aspects. The first part of this study gives an overview of different methods used to register animal responses to human interaction and methods that study the role of the human caretaker. Then the concept of a good human – farm animal relation is presented, as viewed in the scientific papers, and effects of domestication are discussed. In the second part research results are presented regarding how farm animals perceive the human caretaker, both socially and physically. It is supposed that a human can take several roles in relation to the animal, e.g. boss animal, mother substitute, leader or “companion” but the details around this are not much known. Also insights in how animals perceive humans are limited – even basic knowledge is incomplete e.g. regarding how discrimination between humans is made and to what extent. In the third part research results are surveyed concerning how the human affects the relationship. The effects of pleasant or aversive handling are quite well studied and these are discussed, as well as effects of stockman personality and attitudes and the complex concept of stockmanship. In the discussion suggestions are made regarding how to apply the scientific findings in everyday animal husbandry in order to improve the human – farm animal relationship and thus obtain better animal welfare, higher production and farmers/stockmen more sensitive to animal needs. Conclusions are that the human – animal relation depends on different factors related to the human part as well as to the animal part, and that the relation can be manipulated in several ways. It is possible to substantially improve the relationship in order to improve animal and human welfare. These improvements need not always cost a lot to implement, rather they can pay off well due to increased human and animal productivity. 5 6 Introduction Beginning in the 1950’s, radically new methods were introduced for the husbandry of farm animals. Gradually “animal husbandry” was changed into intensive “animal production” (Ekesbo 1991). The changes also had consequences for farm animal health and welfare. This eventually brought about scientific studies of the relationship between animal environment, including management, and animal health (e.g. Ekesbo 1966; Bäckström 1973). These studies revealed the role of several environmental factors for animal health and well being. However, the role of the most important factor, the human caretaker, is so far only briefly investigated. But there is an increasing scientific interest in the human – animal relationship, and a significant number of results can be expected in the next few years which should considerably increase our knowledge in this field. The human – farm animal relation is not only a technical question, it also brings about ethical considerations. This is true both regarding the direct interaction between the human and the individual animal but also regarding the impact on animal health and well being of environmental factors under human control. The ethical implications are recognized for example in the animal welfare legislation which can be seen as society's moral guidelines for human interaction with animals. Ethical issues in animal husbandry have become increasingly important, not least due to increased consumer concerns. For decision making in ethical issues it is of great importance that there is knowledge upon which conclusions can be based. To be able to decide whether an action is to be considered good or bad, the consequences of that action must be known. Thus, in order to make ethical statements e.g. regarding new production systems in animal husbandry, their effects on the animals concerned should be investigated and analyzed. This literature study has been undertaken as part of a comprehensive project studying the relationship between the human caretaker and the farm animal, including ethical aspects. The aim of the project was to find out what answers research can present regarding different aspects of this relationship, asking questions like: How does the human - farm animal relationship affect the animal? What are the components of the relationship, and how can these be measured and scientifically studied? How can these components be developed to create an optimal relation both for the human caretaker and the farm animal? How is farm animal behavior influenced by human behavior? This study is focusing on the traditional farm animals i.e. cattle, pigs and poultry. Literature in adjacent areas, such as pet animals, fur animals or laboratory animals, has not been included. It covers literature published until 1998. 7 8 The scientific study of the human - farm animal relationship The human species has for thousands of years had close relations with some animal species utilized for agricultural purposes. In parts of the world with harsh climatic conditions, like in the Scandinavian countries, the co-existence with farm animals has up until modern times been a precondition for human survival. The behavior of animals has been scientifically studied since the beginning of this century, with Niko Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz as forerunners in creating the new scientific discipline of ethology. The scientific study focusing on different aspects of the relationship between the farm animal and the human caretaker started in the 1960’s. But the interaction between the human and individual animals has become focus for scientific studies only lately. This leaves us with many unanswered questions regarding the interaction. Even many basic questions still need answers, like how and to what extent animals discriminate between humans (de Passillé et al. 1996). Both practical experience and scientific research performed so far show that stockman behavior is of great importance for animals in intensive livestock systems, affecting animal welfare as well as production performance (e.g. Seabrook 1972a, 1972b; Seabrook and Mount 1995; Coleman et al. 1995; Hemsworth and Barnett 1987b). Some authors even claim that man's interaction with the animals is one of the main causes of reduced welfare in such systems (Duncan 1990; Hemsworth and Barnett 1987b). The English researcher Dr. Martin Seabrook was one of the first
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