It was the objective of this prospective field study to assess welfare-relevant indicators in lactating dairy cows in a subsample of dairy farms in Lower Saxony/Germany and to evaluate important factors affecting the prevalence of these indicators. The results were provided to constitute a rational basis for the discussion of appropriate target and alarm values within the framework "Tierschutzplan Niedersachsen". A randomized sample of 159 dairy farms in Lower Saxony with cubicle housing systems and milk production recordings were included being representative for Lower Saxony in respect to farm size and regional distribution. These farms kept 13 985 lactating dairy cows. A total of 13 600 cows (97.3%) could be assessed in respect to the degree of soiling when each lactating cow was rated in respect to the soiling of both hind legs above the tarsus, backside of the udder and lateral abdominal wall using a three-point scoring system (score 1: clean or slight soiling, i.e. at the most few splashes of dirt with a total area of two palms of a hand; score 2: moderate soiling, i.e. hair coat soiled over an area of more than two palms, but for the most part visible; score 3: severe soiling, i.e. incrusted extended soiling, hair coat hardly detectable). Score 3 was defined as an indicator relevant for animal welfare. The median for the proportion of clean or slightly soiled cows (score 1) assessed over 159 farms was 19.5% [25/75 quartils: 3.9/43.8], moderate soiling (score 2) affected 77.1% [55.4/87.5 of the cows in the herds, and severe soiling (score 3) was found in 1.0% [0/3.8] of the cows. A significant effect on the prevalence of severely soiled cows was evidenced for the type of cubicles, the presence of bedding material in cubicles with mats, the cleaning interval of cubicles, the type of lateral cubicle separation, alley scraping, access to pasture and the type of housing for dry cows. It is concluded that an alarm value of 4% severely soiled cows would be appropriate to assess 25% of the farms in Lower Saxony with the most severely soiled dairy cows. Moreover, simple and feasible actions on farms with an above-average proportion of heavily soiled cows allow to improve the cleanliness and, thereby, animal welfare. However, the general operational management on the farm exerts a markedly larger impact on the degree of soiling of the cows than single constructional details.
Starting on January 1st, 2019, the castration of male piglets without anesthesia is prohibited in Germany, due to the July 4th, 2013 modification of the German Animal Welfare Act. Available alternatives are the surgical castration under general- or local anesthesia, the vaccination against boar taint and the fattening of young boars. Surgical castration impairs the integrity of male piglets. The potential disadvantages of the alternative methods are insufficient depth of general anesthesia (14-34% of narcotized piglets) or insufficient analgesia during castration when using local anesthetics. In order to avoid post-operative pain, all surgical methods require the administration of systemically active analgetics prior to castration. Presently, vaccination against boar taint (immunocastration) is regarded to cause the least pain, damage and suffering for the animals. The fattening of young boars is possible if the management is adjusted and the slaughter weights are reduced to minimize the risk of boar taint in carcasses. Boar taint is caused by androstenone, skatole and indole in fatty tissue of boars and among others it is influenced by slaughter weight, breed, housing conditions and feeding. Laboratory methods as well as "human nose scoring" can detect odour components at the slaughterhouse. Within the European Union, the distribution of the use of the different alternatives to surgical castration of piglets without anesthesia varies between member states. Fattening of young boars is widely spread in e.g. Great Britain, Ireland, Spain and Portugal and increasingly also in the Netherlands. Vaccination against boar taint is mainly used in Belgium, whereas farmers mainly castrate piglets surgically with general anesthesia by inhalation in Switzerland and the use of local anesthesia in Sweden and Norway.
Data of 248 cattle with naturally acquired, chorioptic mange mite infestation from southern Bavaria, which were examined in the years of 1983 to 2003, were analysed retrospectively. Chorioptic mite mono infestations were recorded in 52.4% of the cattle while 47.6% of the cattle had mixed infestations of chorioptic mites and psoroptic mites, sarcoptic mites, Bovicola bovis, Haematopinus eurysternus and/or Linognathus vituli. Localisation of the mange lesions of 216 cattle without concurrent infestation by psoroptic or sarcoptic mites were related to the topographic-anatomical regions of the body surface. Chorioptic mange lesions were recorded in more than 80 % of the cattle at the inner sides of the shanks/escutcheon area and the root of the tail/grooves on either side, in 75% of the cattle in the ankle's region and in approximately half of the cattle in the groin and umbilical regions. Fifty-four percent of the mangy cattle had lesions in the 'croup' part of the skin which is the most valuable part of the hide for the leather industry, and 31% of the cattle had lesions in the sacral region and back. There was no association between the animals' age and the prevalence of mange lesfons in the 'croup'and back areas. However, mange lesions in the back and chest regions were"more often observed in cattle with concurrent occurrence of chorioptic mange and biting and/or sucking lice infestation compared to cattle with chrorioptic mange only.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyopneumoniae) is often found in lung tissue samples. Usually small pieces of lung tissue from one of the apical lobes are used for the examination. Different authors quantified M. hyopneumoniae to correlate M. hyopneumoniae load with the severity of lung lesions. Quantification was performed on broncho-alveolar lavage fluid or on small pieces of lung tissue. A comparison of such materials is questionable, because sampling procedure as well as the localization of sampling has an impact on the results. The aim of this study was therefore, to first create a base for comparison of detected M. hyopneumoniae loads and second to check for correlations between severity of lung lesions and M. hyopneumoniae load. 20 lungs of unknown origin with cranioventral pulmonary consolidation have been collected from a slaughterhouse and each lung was scored according to Madec and Kobisch. For standardization of sampling materials, the complete right lung was homogenized and the M. hyopneumoniae load was determined by PCR and the ct-values set in the ratio to each other. Furthermore, 2 samples from each lung from the tip of the right medium lobe (ML) and the border between healthy tissue and lesion (GB) were tested by PCR. All homogenized samples tested positive, 4 respectively 2 of the non-homogenized samples tested negative. Cycle threshold (Ct) values of all samples were lying in a similar range. No direct correlation was found between the Ct-values of the samples and the severeness of macroscopic lesions.
