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The right tools. PROVEN POWER & EFFICIENCY


COUNTRY LIFE IN BC • AUGUST 2017


Is bigger always better? Research doesn't always support public perceptions


by MARGARET EVANS


Does the practice of transitioning from a smaller farm to a larger one in order to increase production compromise animal welfare? Some people might argue yes, but research by


Research by MARGARET EVANS


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at UBC’s animal welfare program shows there is little evidence of a simple relationship between farm size and animal care. The research team examined over 150 published, peer-reviewed studies that focused on differences in farm size and aspects of animal welfare. The studies were international in scope and focused on commercial livestock – beef and dairy cattle, pigs, chickens, turkeys, sheep and goats. Historically, livestock farming has been on a small scale and it remains that way in many parts of North America and around the world. While the number of farms have decreased in Canada and the US by as much as 88% in recent decades, remaining farms have increased in size to meet growing demand for product. But increase in size, intensification and confinement of animals has drawn criticism from some members of the public. In their report, Farm Size and Animal Welfare, published in the Journal of Animal Science last November, researchers state, “Many members of the public believe that animals raised on larger farms have poorer welfare than those reared on smaller farms.” They reference a study in which a sample of


US citizens found that most (57%) agreed or strongly agreed with the statement: “Farm animals raised on small farms have a better life than those raised on large farms.” Opinions about farm size might sound


straightforward and they may trigger philosophical disagreements about size in relation to animal wellbeing, but it’s not always that simple when cultural and historical practices and perceptions about size come into play. “What is meant by large farms varies


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between industry type and by country,” says professor Marina von Keyserlingk, NSERC Industrial Research Chair with UBC’s animal welfare program. “For example, a large farm in Norway would be 50 cows whereas in Canada this would be viewed as a smaller farm (mean herd size in Canada is 84).” The mean herd size in Norway is 26 cows


whereas the mean herd size in New Mexico exceeds 2,000 cows. A dairy farm with 5,000 cows is large by anyone’s standard but a poultry farm with 5,000 chickens is pretty small in any country.


The perception of farmers themselves, though, can be different from that of the public and many farmers may view farm size as much less related to animal welfare. “There is no doubt that farmers view animal health and biological functioning as important elements of animal welfare – a sick animal clearly does not have good welfare – but work has also shown that they care in other ways but do not necessarily use the words animal welfare,” says von Keyserlingk. “For example, in some of the work done by former [UBC] PhD student Jeff Spooner, where he interviewed beef producers in Western Canada, he summarized his findings as follows: "Although wary of the term ‘animal welfare,’ participants understood the concept to encompass three well-known elements: (i) basic animal health and body condition; (ii) affective states (comfort, contentment, freedom from hunger or thirst); and (iii) the ability to live a ‘natural’ life.” Von Keyserlingk says there has actually been


very little work done that directly addresses the issue of how or whether farm size impacts animal welfare. “As we stated in the [research] paper, larger


farms are able to hire experts in certain areas (e.g. many of the very large farms will have veterinarians as full-time staff) whereas small farms have fewer workers who are then frequently required to do many different jobs on the farm. Interestingly, a previous study that we did looking at lameness on dairy farms in the US and another study in China both indicated that larger farms were associated with lower lameness prevalence. We speculate that these larger farms likely had specific individuals who were responsible for dealing with this malady. However, we also know that the public values access to pasture – something that smaller farms will likely be better able to include in their management routine compared to larger farms.” Researchers concluded in their report that


farm size and animal welfare exhibit no consistent relationship. Larger farms might be able to adopt some practices such as training for workers and implementing standard operating procedures but they might be less likely to use other practices like pasture access. Their concern is that an oversimplified view that animal welfare is better on smaller farms than larger farms may create complacency among small farmers that could inadvertently allow welfare problems to persist. “The findings of this literature review indicate that increases in farm size can provide opportunities to improve the welfare of farm animals but can also create certain welfare risks,” says von Keyserlingk. “We suggest that policy and advocacy efforts aimed at reversing increases in farm size would be better directed toward improving animal welfare on farms of all sizes.”


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