Precision livestock farming and animal welfare
Résumé
Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) is often perceived as an instrumentation of animals
in order to make more profitable ‘industrial farms’. By contrast, one could argue that
animal welfare can be better ensured if they are closely monitored with state of the art
technology, enabling rapid feedback by the farmer. We will start from the main
dimensions of animal welfare, as defined in the Welfare Quality® approach, to analyse
how PLF can help to ensure the health and the comfort of animals, to promote
appropriate behaviour, and to avoid distress. Examples will be mainly based from our
own experience gained by the use of a Real Time Locating System that allows inferring
the animal behaviour in real time. Not only the time a given animal spent in each
activity or the distance it travels per day can help understanding whether this animal is
functioning normally (e.g. spends sufficient amount of time resting or eating, or moves
enough) but also the organisation of activities during the day or in relation to specific
events (i.e. circadian rhythms, reactions to human approach) can give indications on
subtle changes that reflect health or behavioural problems. We do not conclude that PLF
is necessary for animal welfare nor that animal welfare is always promoted by PLF
techniques but rather that including animal welfare considerations in the development
and use of PLF techniques is essential to obtain profit for all: the farmer, the animal, and
the society.