Animals deserve to have a life worth living, according to world renowned animal behavior specialist Temple Grandin, PhD, professor of animal science at Colorado State University.
“I’m not just saying they deserve animal welfare,” Grandin recently told the audience of a guest lecture at Iowa State University. “Welfare is a start, but every animal deserves the chance to truly enjoy their lives, too. Anyone who doesn’t believe an animal can feel joy has not watched a dairy cow use a cow brush.”
Grandin said man sometimes is guilty of manipulating the lives of animals to achieve personal or economic outcomes that run counter to the animals’ natural instincts and/or physiological composition. She cited the English bulldog as an example.
“These dogs are very popular as pets, but they’ve been bred extensively for that massive head and cute, short snout,” she explained. “The problem is, we’ve created an animal that can’t give birth without assistance; can’t breathe well; and is highly prone to allergies, skin disorders, and dental problems. Today, they would never survive in the wild without human intervention.”
The quest for highly desirable features like the dished face and curved neck in Arabian horses also is a case of breeding taken to the extreme, according to Grandin. “Make sure ‘bad’ doesn’t become ‘normal,’” she advised.
She said when the economy of meat, milk, or eggs is favored over other traits, infrastructure is sacrificed, noting dairy cattle as an example. “When we over-prioritized milk production, we started having problems with feet and legs and reproduction,” Grandin advised. “Don’t over-select for anything. You’ll wreck your animals.”
Similarly, she said animal facilities and handling practices may become widely adopted, but that doesn’t guarantee they are in the animals’ best interest. She noted there is documented evidence that cows with less stress have lower somatic cell counts. When it comes to lowering stress, she advised:
- Provide non-skid walking surfaces. Slipping and skidding incites fear in all animals, and they will avoid repeatedly treading on a slippery surface, because they remember the fear associated with it.
- Offer a human touch. The flight zone of cattle – or how closely a person can physically approach them on foot without the animal fleeing – is determined by genetics, previous experience, the amount of human interaction they have, and the quality of that interaction. The more positive, close-up interaction they have with humans -- starting at birth -- the better.
- Closely observe animals. Grandin said most dairy producers will underestimate their lameness rate by more than half, until they actually start monitoring and recording lameness events. And if cattle are avoiding a certain area or behavior, they probably are afraid of something – even something as innocuous as a shadow.
Grandin, who is as well-known in the autism community as she is in the animal science world, said she understands animal behavior because her own autism allows her to visualize from an animal’s perspective.
“Fear is the main emotion in autism,” she shared. “It’s why autistic people don’t cope well with loud noises, crowds, and chaos. Early in my career, I wasn’t allowed to say that cattle had ‘fear.’ But they do, and there are things we can do to help them cope with that fear and improve their lives.”
For more on animal welfare, read:
- Calving: The New Frontier in Pain Management
- The Pros and Cons of Caustic Paste
- Do’s and Don’ts for Down Cow Care
