Lameness scoring and assessment of fitness for transport in dairy cows: Agreement among and between farmers, veterinarians and livestock drivers
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Lameness scoring and assessment of fitness for transport in dairy cows : Agreement among and between farmers, veterinarians and livestock drivers. / Dahl-Pedersen, Kirstin; Foldager, Leslie; Herskin, Mette S.; Houe, Hans; Thomsen, Peter T.
In: Research in Veterinary Science, Vol. 119, 2018, p. 162-166.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Lameness scoring and assessment of fitness for transport in dairy cows
T2 - Agreement among and between farmers, veterinarians and livestock drivers
AU - Dahl-Pedersen, Kirstin
AU - Foldager, Leslie
AU - Herskin, Mette S.
AU - Houe, Hans
AU - Thomsen, Peter T.
PY - 2018
Y1 - 2018
N2 - Cull dairy cows are transported to slaughter, but may be more vulnerable to transport stress than younger livestock. In order to ensure the welfare of cull cows during transport their fitness for transport must be assessed before transport. Lameness is a common reason for culling dairy cows, and assessing fitness for transport in lame dairy cows is a frequent task for farmers, veterinarians and livestock drivers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement within and between these three groups of professionals in relation to lameness scoring and assessment of fitness for transport. The study used an online questionnaire consisting of 30 video recordings of walking cows. Participants were asked to score lameness for each cow and assess if the cow was fit for transport or not. Weighted and unweighted kappa were used as a measure of interrater agreement within and between groups. The levels of agreement within and between the three professional groups were at best moderate. Farmers agreed less than moderate within their own group as well as compared to veterinarians and livestock drivers when assessing fitness for transport. In general, it raises concern that the level of agreement on fitness for transport was moderate or even lower. These results call for more focus on the assessment of fitness for transport, including research and possibly training of the different professional groups in order to ensure good animal welfare during transport.
AB - Cull dairy cows are transported to slaughter, but may be more vulnerable to transport stress than younger livestock. In order to ensure the welfare of cull cows during transport their fitness for transport must be assessed before transport. Lameness is a common reason for culling dairy cows, and assessing fitness for transport in lame dairy cows is a frequent task for farmers, veterinarians and livestock drivers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the agreement within and between these three groups of professionals in relation to lameness scoring and assessment of fitness for transport. The study used an online questionnaire consisting of 30 video recordings of walking cows. Participants were asked to score lameness for each cow and assess if the cow was fit for transport or not. Weighted and unweighted kappa were used as a measure of interrater agreement within and between groups. The levels of agreement within and between the three professional groups were at best moderate. Farmers agreed less than moderate within their own group as well as compared to veterinarians and livestock drivers when assessing fitness for transport. In general, it raises concern that the level of agreement on fitness for transport was moderate or even lower. These results call for more focus on the assessment of fitness for transport, including research and possibly training of the different professional groups in order to ensure good animal welfare during transport.
KW - Animal welfare
KW - Dairy cow
KW - Fitness for transport
KW - Kappa
KW - Lameness
KW - Livestock driver
U2 - 10.1016/j.rvsc.2018.06.017
DO - 10.1016/j.rvsc.2018.06.017
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 29940460
AN - SCOPUS:85048842639
VL - 119
SP - 162
EP - 166
JO - Research in Veterinary Science
JF - Research in Veterinary Science
SN - 0034-5288
ER -
ID: 201905950