Assessment of Immune Responses as Indicators of Welfare in Calves.

Abstract

The welfare of domestic food animals has been defined by their state as regards their attempts to cope with their environment(Broom, 1986). Attempts made by the animals to cope can be successful or unsuccessful; unsuccessful attempts are defined as poor welfare. The assessment of animal welfare may be made, for example, ethological, endocrinological and immunological methods. Poor welfare has been associated with increased disease susceptibility; furthermore stress can cause immunosupression (reviewed by Kelley, 1980). Therefore, immune responses should indicate the welfare of an animal. An experiment was designed to assess immune responses as indicators of welfare of calves kept in different husbandry conditions.