CODE OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE WELFARE OF LIVESTOCK: GOATS

Thank you for the opportunity for FAWC to comment on the proposed code of recommendations for goats.

Overall we believe the Code is helpful but further guidance should be given in certain areas relating to health and welfare. It is noticeable that, while there are many indicators of poor health quoted, there is little guidance on what to look for to confirm good welfare or determine poor welfare. Moreover, there is a paucity of definitions, for example, of ‘suffering’, ‘well-being’ and ‘distress’.

Whilst understanding that the document is aimed at livestock kept on agricultural land, it remains a shortcoming that transport gets a particular mention but minimal mention is made of ‘markets’ except in respect of young stock and a reference under useful publications. FAWC considers that ‘Farm Codes’ should now expressly detail general market and marketing issues upfront, and should add to any particularly required references, (e.g. the young stock issue,) rather than hiding the issue behind references to other publications.

Our detailed comments with paragraph references are as follows:

Page 6 Box, last paragraph: We wonder if it is possible for Defra to be sued for financial loss in the event of an acquittal?

Paragraph 8, line 5: “This plan should set out health, welfare and husbandry activities…” Husbandry activities do not necessarily cover all welfare factors and our suggested change emphasises the importance of welfare.

Paragraph 10: Add a further skill; that of being able to recognise states of good and poor welfare.

Paragraph 12: Add signs of pain, suffering and distress or disease.

Paragraph 13: Line 1: Add good welfare after good health

Add to the quoted signs: inquisitiveness, contentment, normal respiration in terms of rate and depth. Note that respiratory disease is specifically mentioned later (in para 80) and so signs of good respiratory health need to be given here.

Paragraph 14: Line 1: Add poor welfare after ill-health

Add to the quoted signs: a more general term such as - difficulties in breathing. Raised body temperature should also be mentioned

In addition, other signs of poor welfare should be included e.g. persistent or abnormal vocalisation. Heat stress and panting (see para 80).

Transport: No mention is made of the risks of transporting horned and non-horned animals together – (see e.g. paras 76 and 97). Also there should be warnings about transporting entire males with does in oestrus.

Identification: You have omitted to mention micro-chipping. In addition, you have made no mention of the pain associated with tattooing?

As there is a separate section of health, we believe it would be would it be logical (and in the spirit of the Animal Health and Welfare Strategy) to have a separate section on welfare.

Biosecurity: The document should mention that undue and prolonged stress can lower resistance to disease hence threatening biosecurity.

Page 16, Box. It would be better to disinfect vehicles immediate after stock have been unloaded, rather than to risk spread (e.g. fomites) during a return journey. This 24hr period could do a lot of harm as was evidenced in the FMD outbreak of 2001.

Paragraph 30, line 5: Animals may be brought in and well as bought in, so change to read: “All goats brought in ……”, as that covers both.

Page 18, paragraph 39, line 2: The term regularly is too loose. Disinfection should occur as a minimum after a day’s work i.e. after 8 hr of use of the equipment, and also if there has been obvious contamination e.g. dropping in dung..

Paragraph 42, line 2: Add at end “..or are in pain, or are distress…..”

Paragraph 43 at end. This is addressing an animal not a human need. Therefore we suggest replacing “..if you need to.” With “..if necessary.”

Paragraph 64: Replace welfare with husbandry advice.

Paragraph 65: at end change to read “..well trained in the nutritional, environmental and welfare needs of goats.”

Paragraph 77: Replace pecking order with dominance order.

Paragraph 112: Strictly it should be fetotomy as the embryo becomes a fetus when the organs are formed and this is long before birth.

Paragraphs 118 to 121: It would be helpful here to cross refer to earlier paras e.g. 13 and 14.

Paragraph 130: You have made no mention of watching them for signs of bullying etc, for a defined period of say 5 days after mixing. This would be especially important for horned animals.

Paragraph 135: Perhaps the age of goat kids going to market should be specified – we would suggest one month of age.

Paragraph 137: This is at odds with current concepts of pain perception in young animals where the nervous system is not fully developed in terms of modulating pain impulses ascending in and to the CNS. There is evidence in many species that young animals feel more pain than older ones whose nervous system has matured. We would suggest deleting the word ‘whether’ in line 4.

Add to the third bullet point: “and subsequent analgesia.”

Burdizzo should have an upper case B.

Paragraph 139: Add at end “..and should be carried out under anaesthesia (general and/or local – we believe there may be new local anaesthetics that are safe for goats).

Paragraph 140: Dehorning may also be for the welfare of an individual animal and not only for the herd.

Paragraph 153 last line: Add “areas” after suitable.

Paragraph 157: Vasectomy and electro-ejaculation should be carried out under anaesthesia.

Paragraph 162: Replace “as much as they want” (this is not necessarily always good for them) by “sufficient amounts”.

Paragraph 164: Also aggressiveness, docility, disease resistance.

Line 7: “…for other factors relating to health and welfare.”

Line 9: “..satisfactory standards of health and welfare”.

Mastitis

Second bullet point: It is possible in goats to detect sub-clinical mastitis using cell counts. This should be mentioned.

We hope these comments from FAWC are helpful and we look forward to receiving the final document, which will be of enormous help to the goat-keeping community.