Positive emotions in cattle: Assessing the well-being of fattening bulls based on their exploratory behavior in a behavioral test
Project Leader: Prof. Dr. Knierim, Ute; Dr. Schulze Westerath, Heike
Project participants: Dipl.-Ing. Hesse, Nina; Laister, Simone; Winckler, Christoph
Project description:
Positive emotions in cattle: Assessment of the well-being of fattening bulls based on their exploratory behavior in a behavioral test:
So far, the assessment of animal welfare has mainly considered those parameters that indicate restricted welfare. Recently, however, there has been increasing interest in indicators that can provide information about the positive side of the scale. The question of the extent to which animals also experience positive emotions plays a central role here. Exploratory behavior plays an important role in how animals find their way around their environment. The usually high motivation for exploration indicates that this is essentially perceived as pleasant. As part of the EU Welfare Quality® project, a way was sought to assess such positive emotions in fattening bulls. The assessment should be carried out during farm monitoring, which suggests that it can be verified in a behavioral test. The aim of the investigations was to find out whether a behavioral test can provide information about the extent to which fattening bulls have the opportunity and stimulation to perform exploratory behavior on a daily basis.
Funded by: European Union, 6th Research Framework Program.
In collaboration with: Winckler, C. and Laister, S. University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna
Publications: