ReviewAnimals : an open access journal from MDPI2019
How Can We Assess Positive Welfare in Ruminants?
Review in Animals : an open access journal from MDPI, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- A systematic review on the application of precision livestock farming technologies to detect lying, rest and sleep behavior in dairy calves.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Pooled it
- Quantifying Sheep Behaviour Using a 3D Accelerometer: A Proof-of-Concept for Objective Stress Assessment.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Developing a Practical Welfare Assessment Tool for Intensive Sheep and Goat Farming in Hot-Arid Regions: Pilot Validation in the United Arab Emirates.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Qualitative behavioural assessment shows individual variation suggestive of affective state changes in early lactation dairy cows.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2026Article
- Associations Between REM Sleep-like Posture Expression and Cognitive Flexibility in 2-Month-Old Japanese Black Calves.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- The Welfare of Cattle in Different Housing Systems.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Review
- Welfare of beef cattle.EFSA journal. European Food Safety Authority · 2025Article
- Enhancing movement opportunity to support behavioral needs for movement-restricted cattle through different conditions of access to exercise.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Discourses on Positive Animal Welfare by Sheep Farmers and Industry Actors: Implications for Science and Communication.Veterinary sciences · 2024Article
- Novel enrichment reduces boredom-associated behaviors in housed dairy cows.JDS communications · 2024Article
- The Impact of Abrupt and Fenceline-Weaning Methods on Cattle Stress Response, Live Weight Gain, and Behaviour.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- Tactile, Auditory, and Visual Stimulation as Sensory Enrichment for Dairy Cattle.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Review
- Finding biomarkers of experience in animals.Journal of animal science and biotechnology · 2024Review
- Exploring positive welfare measures: preliminary findings from a prototype protocol in loose housing dairy cattle farms.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Automated monitoring of brush use in dairy cattle.PloS one · 2024Article
- Rumination Detection in Sheep: A Systematic Review of Sensor-Based Approaches.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Short communications: an ear-attached accelerometer detects effects of regrouping on lying, rumination, and activity times in calves.Veterinary research communications · 2023Article
- Contact with Mature Cows and Access to Pasture during Early Life Shape Dairy Heifer Behaviour at Integration into the Milking Herd.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Behavioral responses to cow and calf separation: separation at 1 and 100 days after birth.Animal bioscience · 2023Article
- The Effect of Placement and Group Size on the Use of an Automated Brush by Groups of Lactating Dairy Cattle.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Until now, most research has focused on the development of indicators of negative welfare, and relatively few studies provide information on valid, reliable, and feasible indicators addressing positive aspects of animal welfare. However, a lack of suffering does not guarantee that animals are experiencing a positive welfare state. The aim of the present review is to identify promising valid and reliable animal-based indicators for the assessment of positive welfare that might be included in welfare assessment protocols for ruminants, and to discuss them in the light of the five domains model, highlighting possible gaps to be filled by future research. Based on the existing literature in the main databases, each indicator was evaluated in terms of its validity, reliability, and on-farm feasibility. Some valid indicators were identified, but a lot of the validity evidence is based on their absence when a negative situation is present; furthermore, only a few indicators are available in the domains of Nutrition and Health. Reliability has been seldom addressed. On-farm feasibility could be increased by developing specific sampling strategies and/or relying on the use of video- or automatic-recording devices. In conclusion, several indicators are potentially available (e.g., synchronisation of lying and feeding, coat or fleece condition, qualitative behaviour assessment), but further research is required.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.