Figure 3. Increasing contact during rearing improves relationships.

The importance of the human–animal relationship for commercial farms

The health and welfare of livestock is paramount on farm, and the need to reduce stress and fear is included in the Animal Welfare Act 2006. The influence of human behaviour on animals should be...

Figure 1. Group housing of pigs, which allows for social interactions (courtesy of Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board Pork).

Livestock cognition: stimulating the minds of farm animals to improve welfare and productivity

The cognitive ability of farm animals has been studied with increasing prevalence and it has become evident that many species have more complex abilities than previously thought (Nawroth et al, 2019).

Figure 3. Example of additional outside space for dairy cattle.

Understanding the social behaviour of dairy cattle can benefit welfare and productivity

SNA is being utilised with increasing prevalence to untangle patterns of social behaviour. Originally, this approach was used to aid the understanding of human relationships, but it has recently been...