Challenges
The agricultural sector is in a period of rapid change; some of which include the tendency towards larger farms, with more animals but fewer people to care for these animals. This can lead to increased difficulties in the effective detection of welfare issues. Options that could help are to use methods to help stockkeepers decide where intervention is required i.e., data-driven decisions. This information can originate from a variety of sources, for example, new tools, such as wearable sensors or strategic use of diagnostics. The approach is known as precision livestock farming (PLF) which is a farming method where equipment, data or software is used which allows the use of information at an individual level for targeting decisions, inputs, and treatments more precisely. These approaches have been embraced by sectors such as dairy cattle and poultry, with a variety of them currently used on commercial farms e.g., sensors to identify the onset of calving and lameness detection, but little uptake or development of appropriate systems have been conducted for sheep.
As well as data collection at an individual level, significant improvements in animal welfare, particularly in extensively managed sheep-rearing systems, can also be achieved through an overall reduction in disease burden. One example of this type of approach is the use of diagnostic tests to target the control of specific diseases in local or regional settings. However, there are few practical on-farm applications of these tools for use in sheep, but there are exciting opportunities to develop innovative tools to support farming systems to promote positive welfare.
PLF tools can be used to improve the assessment of welfare issues: validation/evaluation of sensor-based tools to assess welfare in grazing animals, for the early detection of negative welfare-inducing diseases such as sheep scab and mastitis, and the strategic use of a diagnostic test to improve welfare through early detection of disease. These tools could provide livestock keepers with non-labour-intensive options to monitor the welfare of their animals. Implementation of these tools will allow the promotion of positive welfare, improved sustainable farming practices and climate change mitigation through the early detection of welfare issues and optimised, effective and early treatment of disease, which will reduce chemical substance use in farming.
Questions
- What practical on-farm solutions can be developed to achieve improvements in farm animal welfare within environmentally sustainable farming systems in Scotland?
Solutions
This project aims to conduct research which will deliver practical methodologies to assess and improve welfare, leading to improvements in animal husbandry on-farm in sustainable farming systems in Scotland.
Evaluating PLF tools to act as early warning systems to identify welfare harms: negative welfare-inducing diseases
For this activity, we aim to identify changes that could be used to generate a general ‘alert’ that an individual’s behaviour has changed to be used as a proxy for disease-specific indicators. This involves undertaking detailed challenge experiments in uninfected naïve animals to follow disease progression using both the ‘gold standard’ diagnostics currently available and new PLF technologies, such as accelerometers, and proximity loggers. These may include but are not limited to, sheep scab, mastitis, and roundworm infection. We are also building high-quality datasets that can be used to:
Conduct retrospective analysis to determine associations between visual observations and technology-derived data, including any time lag effects.
Determine from the data from the challenge experiments if it is feasible to use technology-derived data to truly dynamically predict problems for an individual in real-time.
Assessing the potential of PLF tools to identify welfare issues in sheep
This activity involves conducting grazing trials over 4 years at Firth Mains to evaluate a range of PLF tools in grazing ewes and lambs with simultaneous collection of behavioural observations, animal specific and clinical data. We are assessing the welfare consequences of using PLF technologies and if the short-term weight prediction algorithm (used in the Targeted Selective Treatment (TST) worming approach) could also act as an early indicator of potential welfare issues in grazing lambs.
Improve sheep welfare by incorporating novel tools into practical on-farm strategies to reduce the incidence of sheep scab
We are taking the following approaches to develop and implement a control programme based on targeted treatments for sheep scab as an exemplar scheme(s) for the reduction of disease and promotion of animal welfare in high-risk areas in Scotland:
- Collating and comparing data and outcomes from previous (Isle of Mull, Pentland Hills & Angus Glens) and ongoing (Rural Development Programme control programme for England) serological-based sheep scab control programmes.
- Based on the successful approaches from previous campaigns and in conjunction with key industry stakeholders, local authorities and government agencies, develop a new scheme for the improved control of disease in a high-risk area of Scotland (Isle of Lewis).
- Undertaking a control programme based on serological testing to facilitate the targeted treatment of sheep scab within a defined hotspot area/setting.
- In conjunction with the Centre of Expertise for Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC), we are analysing the potential impacts on disease prevalence and animal welfare, both during and at the end of the control programme.
Project Partners
Progress
The evaluation of PLF tools as early warning systems to identify welfare harms began by collating the disease models that will be used at Moredun Research Institute (MRI), so that the housed animals can be studied from the known point of infection. We will apply the 3Rs principles and request access to infected control animals used in other studies. Studies on sheep scab and various species of roundworm are planned throughout the SRP and we are collaborating with the Principal Investigators (PIs) on those studies. In the second approach of evaluating PFL tools, we conducted field trails following ewes and lambs exposed to natural infections (roundworm parasites, mastitis and lameness). Thirty-six ewes and their twin lambs were followed from lambing (April) to finishing (October) with behavioural observation, clinical samples and welfare issues being recorded at least fortnightly. In addition, the animals wore PLF tools (e.g., accelerometer, proximity logger, global navigation satellite system (GNSS)) throughout the study. As this project involves significant and complex data collection, we have been collaborating with BioSS to produce high-quality datasets.
We have investigated the strategic use of a diagnostic test for sheep scab in 'hot spot' areas to improve animal welfare through early disease detection. Existing and new datasets were collated and exploited to understand the impact of early sheep scab detection on animal welfare and reduced disease burden in areas around the hot spots. As part of these efforts and with funding from the Scottish Government, a new scab control programme has been initiated on the Isles of Lewis and Harris. Following discussions with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Scotland's Rural College (SRUC) and Scottish Government, the sheep scab blood test is now available as a diagnostic option within the National Testing Programme. This development provides the resources required (i.e., tests and veterinary visit costs) to encourage individuals and groups of farmers, workers as a collective to deal with outbreaks of sheep scab in a more sustainable manner.
Members of our team also attended several agricultural shows, such as the Royal Highland Show, Scotsheep and Malvern and the Monitor Farm meeting as well as presenting at the MRI Press day. We have hosted the Livestock Helminth Research Alliance meeting as well as a visit of the EU-funded TechCare project, that included an on-farm demonstration. We also hosted visits of commercial and farming groups interested in improving animal welfare through early disease detection (e.g., Elanco). Finally we also attended and presented at scientific conferences such as the European Association of Animal Production (EAAP, in Lyon, France), a keynote address at the British Association of Veterinary Parasitology (BAVP, Glasgow), a presentation in Edinburgh at the annual conference of EPIC Centre of Expertise in Animal Disease Outbreak as well as a talk at the Autumn Conference of the Sheep Veterinary Society (SVS). The group also organized a 'Technology in Sheep Farming: Workshop and Demonstration day' at Moredun. Further events included interactive workshops across Lewis and Harris, visits from farmers and Registered Animal Medicines Advisor (RAMA) representatives, as well as a visit by Princess Anne.
This project links well with a previous project entitled 'Making worms squirm: sustainable worm control in lambs through precision livestock farming'.
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