201. Sensitivity of the integrated welfare quality® scores to changing values of individual dairy cattle welfare measures
- Author
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De Graaf, S, Ampe, B., Buijs, Stephanie, Andreasen, S.N., De Boyer Des Roches, A., van Eerdenburg, F.J.C.M., Haskell, M.J., Kirchner, M.K., Mounier, L., Radeski, M., Winckler, C., Bijttebier, J., Lauwers, L, Verbeke, W., Tuyttens, F.A.M., LS GZ Landbouwhuisdieren, dFAH AVR, Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Department of Agricultural Economics, Sindh Agriculture University Tandojam, Department of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU)-University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Department of Farm Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University [Utrecht], Scotland's Rural College (SCUR), Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences [Copenhagen], Animal Welfare Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Division of Livestock Sciences, Department of Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien [Vienne, Autriche] (BOKU), ProdInra, Migration, Research Institute for Agricultural, Fisheries and Food (ILVO), Unité Mixte de Recherche sur les Herbivores - UMR 1213 (UMRH), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS)-AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement, Scotland's Rural College (SRUC), University of Copenhagen = Københavns Universitet (KU), Division of livestock sciences, Department of sustainable agricultural systems, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-VetAgro Sup - Institut national d'enseignement supérieur et de recherche en alimentation, santé animale, sciences agronomiques et de l'environnement (VAS), LS GZ Landbouwhuisdieren, dFAH AVR, Department of Large Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Unité Mixte de Recherches sur les Herbivores ( UMR 1213 Herbivores ), VetAgro Sup ( VAS ) -AgroSup Dijon - Institut National Supérieur des Sciences Agronomiques, de l'Alimentation et de l'Environnement-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique ( INRA ), Scotland's Rural College, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, and University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences
- Subjects
040301 veterinary sciences ,media_common.quotation_subject ,[SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] ,integrated welfare index ,Relative weight ,indicateur de bien-être animal ,bien-être animal ,[INFO] Computer Science [cs] ,General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology ,[SHS]Humanities and Social Sciences ,animal welfare ,0403 veterinary science ,welfare quality ,sensitivity analysis ,Animal welfare ,Statistics ,We ,fare Quality ,animal-based welfare indicator ,[INFO]Computer Science [cs] ,Quality (business) ,Sensitivity (control systems) ,Dairy cattle ,media_common ,2. Zero hunger ,Protocol (science) ,[ SDV ] Life Sciences [q-bio] ,General Veterinary ,0402 animal and dairy science ,dairy cattle ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,040201 dairy & animal science ,[SDV] Life Sciences [q-bio] ,bovin laitier ,Animal Science and Zoology ,animal-based welfare indicators ,[SHS] Humanities and Social Sciences ,Psychology ,Welfare ,analyse de sensibilité - Abstract
The Welfare Quality((R)) (WQ) protocol for on-farm dairy cattle welfare assessment describes 33 measures and a step-wise method to integrate the outcomes into 12 criteria scores, grouped into four principle scores and into an overall welfare categorisation with four possible levels. The relative contribution of various welfare measures to the integrated scores has been contested. Using a European dataset (491 herds), we investigated: i) variation in sensitivity of integrated outcomes to extremely low and high values of measures, criteria and principles by replacing each actual value with minimum and maximum observed and theoretically possible values; and ii) the reasons for this variation in sensitivity. As intended by the WQ consortium, the sensitivity of integrated scores depends on: i) the observed value of the specific measures/criteria; ii) whether the change was positive/negative; and iii) the relative weight attributed to the measures. Additionally, two unintended factors of considerable influence appear to be side-effects of the complexity of the integration method. Namely: i) the number of measures integrated into criteria and principle scores; and ii) the aggregation method of the measures. Therefore, resource-based measures related to drinkers (which have been criticised with respect to their validity to assess absence of prolonged thirst), have a much larger influence on integrated scores than health-related measures such as 'mortality rate' and 'lameness score'. Hence, the integration method of the WQ protocol for dairy cattle should be revised to ensure that the relative contribution of the various welfare measures to the integrated scores more accurately reflect their relevance for dairy cattle welfare.
- Published
- 2018