14/08/2020
When people begin to think and talk about or involve animal welfare breeding, never forget to develop animal husbandry "original heart", do not lose "rationality", do not break away from "professional", still less to blindly "hype".
1. Animal welfare
To a certain extent, "animal welfare" is just a "goodwill" "subjective" concept. It is the infiltration and pity of human civilization on animals (wild animals, economic animals, pets), which has not been officially recognized. Specific standards. Animal welfare generally consists of five basic elements: physical, environmental, health, behavioral, and psychological welfare. The purpose is to make those animals (I mean economic animals in particular) live happily and die calmly.
2. Disease resistance breeding
Disease resistance breeding is a kind of animal welfare at the "source". Only by strictly screening and controlling the original species, great-grandparents, progenitors and parents, purifying some typical diseases that can spread vertically, and screening out some genetic diseases, can conditions be created for healthy breeding of commodity generation.At the same time, according to the test of production performance, we should pay more attention to purifying and strengthening "disease resistance gene" in the breeding of improved varieties, so as to truly cultivate "new variety" with strong "anti-infection" ability, which is one of the most critical welfare.
3. Biosafety
Biosafety is the biggest animal welfare, and almost all operations in the aquaculture industry are related to biosafety.Only do the biosafety work is thorough, can let the healthy breeding get thorough.Disinfection, isolation and environmental control are always the main contents of biosafety.Most of the farm biosafety work is not done well, resulting in the proliferation and long-term existence of pathogenic microorganisms, leaving "sensitive" and "fragile" "lives" in constant danger, contrary to the requirements of welfare breeding.
4. Feeding mode
Farming mode is one of the main contents of biosafety, and the contribution of different farming modes to "healthy farming" varies greatly.From free-range breeding to floor mat breeding, to online flat breeding, and then to cage breeding, this is the "choice" of "keeping pace with The Times" that has been explored in practice. I have always stressed that only the breeding mode that can "improve" the animal health and production level can be regarded as the real "welfare" and also accord with the "original intention" of breeding.The separation of animal excrement and its own excrement is an important direction to improve the breeding mode.Whatever the model, it is also important to control "moderate scale" and "scientifically sound density".
5. Animal nutrition
In the division of animal husbandry, there is a discipline called animal nutrition, which studies the "precise" nutritional needs of livestock and poultry of different breeds, age, s*x and function.The specialty of animal nutrition directly guides the selection of feed raw materials, the reform of feed formula and the improvement of feed processing technology.Animal nutritionists work for "animals", not "bosses".Meeting the nutritional needs of animals is one of the greatest animal welfare, in a sense, animal health is also "eat" out.
6. Body sensing temperature
Somatosensory temperature is an animal's comprehensive perception of the external physical environment, which is related to the animal's age, satiety, health, fur status, etc., and more related to the temperature, humidity, wind speed and density of the environment in which the animal is located.Only when animals have a "comfortable" somatosensory temperature can they show neither cold nor hot, have an "environmental guarantee" for survival, growth and production, and have good production performance.
7. Air quality
From a professional point of view, air quality is the first factor in the survival of animals, oxygen is the first nutrient.The physiological and biochemical reactions of animals cannot be separated from the active participation of oxygen. If the air quality is not up to the standard (more dust, more dander, harmful gas content exceeding the standard, too humid or too dry, insufficient oxygen partial pressure), it will directly threaten the survival and health of animals.In large-scale aquaculture, "air quality" and "somatosensory temperature" constitute the "core" content of environmental control, and should also be the key to "modern welfare farming".
8. Drink water quality
We all know that diseases come from the mouth, and animal health is also closely related to "mouth". We should not only ensure adequate nutrition, balance and purification of feed, but also ensure that drinking water reaches the standard, so as to better control "intestinal infection".First of all, large-scale breeding should test whether the water quality is up to the standard. According to the test report, different water treatment schemes should be selected. The purpose is to let the livestock have safe drinking water to obtain intestinal health and production safety, which is the minimum welfare.
9. Anti-welfare farming
When we talk about welfare farming, please do not deviate, let alone go to extremes.Once "welfare" is overhyped by "good faith", "economic animal" becomes "pet", "subject" and "object" can be reversed, and when "cost" severely squeezes "profit", does the so-called "welfare" still work?I have always opposed the "closed eyes" empty welfare farmers, do not believe?Try it by their standards?Either a broken head or a ruined house.
10. On a large scale
After all, modern aquaculture is a "captive breeding" mode of "artificial". With the concentration of land resources, financial resources and technical resources, "scale" has been "considerable" development.The "trend" of small-scale, medium-scale, large-scale, super-large scale and super-large scale seriously "deviates" from the "nature" of economic animals. When there is a large scale and high concentration, epidemic prevention and control will become the biggest threshold.Large scale, not easy to raise, not good, why bother?Why?
11. A high density
The development of modern agriculture tells us the importance and reason of "reasonable dense planting", and the development of modern large-scale breeding also tells us that the "carrying capacity" of the land per unit area and farm is a threshold and an upper limit, not the bigger the better.Which would you prefer, a single room, a standard room, a three-room room or a full-size shop?High density must be a high risk, because the needs of life must be guaranteed in order to be healthy.Crowded, dirty, in addition to sick, what else can produce?"Welfare, welfare", animals without "blessing", where can you have "benefit"?
12. Keep it simple
Many farmers, mistakenly money is saved, they do not understand the "healthy breeding" "at least" is what the guarantee?There is often a simple "luck" mentality, often placed in the hope of "luck".The result?In dirty, messy places, biosecurity is not guaranteed;Simple and simple enclosure, mechanization, automation, intelligence is not used at all.Such artificial barriers keep animals away from the most basic conditions of life. What about "outperformance" and "outperformance"?
13. Settle for second best
In the breeding industry, there is a group of people not in the spirit of continuous improvement and excellence of thinking, but when the need to "spend money" "investment" "worry", there is a kind of "settle for second" compromise.That way, you don't do what you need to do to be "good" and "good".It won't improve if you don't do it, and it won't improve.What is the welfare of wronged animals?You want to settle for the next best thing, and you'll end up with something worse than the next best thing. Is that what you're after?
Wrote by 赵德峰(2019.10.19)