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* Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering (IMAG), Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands;
and
Animal Welfare Centre—Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Utrecht, Yalelaan 17, 3584 CL, Utrecht, The Netherlands; and
and
Department of Animal Sciences, Ethology Group, Wageningen University and Research Centre, 6700 AH, Wageningen, The Netherlands
2 Correspondence:
Inst. of Animal Science and Health (ID-Lelystad), Wageningen Univ. and Res. Ctr., P.O. Box 65, 8200 AB Lelystad, The Netherlands (phone: +31-(0)320-238205; fax: +31-(0)320-238050; E-mail:
m.b.m.bracke{at}id.wag-ur.nl).
The problem of how to objectively assess the overall welfare status of animals under farming conditions has contributed to an ongoing debate that has hampered actual decision making on animal welfare. For this reason we constructed a model based on the assumed hierarchical organization of the animals’ needs for overall welfare assessment in the case of pregnant sows. This model is implemented in a computer-based decision support system that takes a description of a housing and management system as input and produces a welfare score as output. A formalized procedure was used to construct the model for welfare assessment in pregnant sows on the basis of available scientific knowledge. This SOWEL (from SOw WELfare) model contains 37 attributes that describe the welfare-relevant properties of housing and management systems. In the decision support system these attributes are linked to scientific statements and a list of needs to provide a scientific basis for welfare assessment. Weighting factors that represent the relative importance of the attributes are derived from the scientific statements about the various welfare performance criteria that have been measured by scientists. The welfare score is calculated as the weighted average score. All information in the decision support system is stored in tables in a relational database such that newly available knowledge and insights can be incorporated to refine the model. The model has been developed in line with several existing models but it differs from these models in that it is the first to provide a formalized procedure to explicate the reasoning steps involved in welfare assessment based on available scientific knowledge.
Key Words: Animal Welfare • Housing • Indexes • Management • Pigs
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M. B. M. Bracke, J. H. M. Metz, B. M. Spruijt, and W. G. P. Schouten Decision support system for overall welfare assessment in pregnant sows B: Validation by expert opinion J Anim Sci, July 1, 2002; 80(7): 1835 - 1845. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
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