Welfare describes either an animal’s current or cumulative quality of life, both of which are directly affected by animal care decisions, including housing, management, and handling practices. In recent years, research on “positive welfare” has been trending. The idea behind this concept is that even if animals are not actively suffering, it does not necessarily mean that they have “good” welfare, which also requires them to experience positive things. Although it is unrealistic to expect animals to avoid all negative experiences across their lifetime, it is important to balance those stressful situations with positive experiences. One way to provide animals with opportunities for positive experiences is through environmental enrichment.
Definitions and examples of environmental enrichment can vary. In general, to be considered enrichment, a resource must be used by an animal and produce some kind of benefit to its welfare. However, the term is sometimes misused to describe any objects added to an animal’s environment. Such items may be provided with good intentions but with no evidence that the animals use them, want them, or benefit from them. For example, “toys” such as balls are commonly marketed for horses or dogs, but there is no consistent evidence that they are relevant to cattle and improve their welfare.
In addition, various other types of resources can noticeably improve animal welfare in some way but are still not considered to be enrichment. Examples of these include basic resources that mainly address physiological needs and thus reduce suffering, namely the negative states of hunger, thirst, or discomfort. For example, studies have consistently shown the importance of heat abatement to protect both production and welfare in dairy cattle of all ages during periods of seasonal heat stress. Heat abatement resources, such as shade, should be considered important “environmental improvements,” rather than enrichments.
Many opportunity areas
To be considered environmental enrichment, then, a resource should allow cattle to express behaviors that are appropriate and relevant to their life stage. In addition, the enrichment should go beyond simply providing relief from some form of suffering — it should allow for positive experiences, such as pleasure or reward. Some enrichments go beyond providing only immediate positive experiences and can lead to longer term animal welfare benefits by helping cattle develop better resilience or skills for coping with challenges.
There are several ways in which we can think about categorizing enrichment types for cattle, and these classifications are not mutually exclusive. They can include various aspects of physical, exercise, sensory, feeding-based, cognitive, and social enrichment.
Physical enrichment describes changing the layout of the animals’ environment, such as by providing a larger space or partitions to create different functional areas. For example, experiments have shown that right before and during calving, cows prefer blinds or partitions that provide seclusion. This mimics their natural behavior of distancing from the herd during calving in pasture settings. Inspired by this concept, some commercial dairy farms have installed curtains or other solid barriers to give cows some privacy at calving.
Exercise is often combined with physical enrichment because cows become more active in larger or more open spaces. For example, cows housed in freestall barns prefer additional access to pastures or outdoor exercise yards with soft footing, such as sand or bark mulch.
Sensory enrichment refers to objects that stimulate the senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, or touch. Grooming brushes are a common form of tactile enrichment. Research has shown that adult cows will work hard to access automatic mechanical rotating brushes. Mechanical brushes can be an expensive investment for farmers, though, so the good news is that cattle also willingly use simpler stationary brushes. For example, weaned dairy heifers use stationary brushes right away when they are provided. They continue to use them daily, not only for grooming themselves, but also by licking or chewing the bristles. This is an example of how enrichments should address behaviors that vary by age.
For preweaned calves, FEEDING-BASED ENRICHMENTS, which are designed to mimic natural feeding behavior, include offering milk or milk replacer through a nipple. This provides an appropriate outlet for them to express suckling behavior and reduces abnormal oral behaviors, including calves cross-sucking on each other.
Cognitive enrichment aims to stimulate the animal’s learning or problem-solving abilities. So far, no practical cognitive enrichments have been developed for cattle. But, in many experiments, calves and cows have shown eagerness for completing tasks. Providing cattle with choices and opportunities to solve problems has the potential to give them positive experiences that can result in long-term improvements in coping skills and quality of life.
Lastly, SOCIAL ENRICHMENT for cattle, which are a herd species, can also lead to long-term coping benefits and positive welfare. For preweaned calves, the industry status quo is individual housing until weaning. However, many research studies have found a variety of animal welfare benefits when housing calves in pairs or groups. Full social contact from early in life has been shown to improve calves’ social and cognitive development, which translates into stress resilience during weaning, along with easier acclimation to new feeds and situations. Furthermore, pair or group housing has been shown to improve calves’ physical development, such as their ability to cope with cold stress, and boost starter intake and weight gain compared to individual housing. Social housing of preweaned calves is a clear example of a type of enrichment that results in several long-term, positive animal welfare benefits.
A win-win situation
Environmental enrichment allows dairy cattle to express appropriate behaviors, which is an important part of animal welfare. Enrichment can allow cattle to have positive experiences, which is beneficial from an ethical standpoint. Providing enrichment may also be a potential way to tell a more positive story about animal care and enhance the public image of dairy farming. Therefore, dairy farmers may consider providing meaningful environmental enrichment to cattle to promote good animal welfare and the social sustainability of the industry.
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