Commercial Livestock Systems: Explaining the Welfare-Productivity Disconnect Under Normal Production
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study examined whether apparently normal productive performance could coexist with adverse animal-based welfare evidence in commercial livestock systems. A qualitative conceptual design was used through an integrative review of peer-reviewed literature and institutional scientific sources. Literature identified through Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed was purposively synthesized around productive performance, adaptive regulation, welfare state, and animal-based indicators. The analysis showed that productive output and welfare evidence overlapped but did not carry equivalent inferential value. Maintained output could remain compatible with changing regulatory demand, particularly when animals compensated for continuing environmental or biological challenges. This created a period in which welfare-related changes could become visible before clear production loss occurred. The study developed the Welfare-Productivity Disconnect to describe this mismatch between expected output and credible welfare concern. The framework did not treat productivity as irrelevant to welfare. Instead, it clarified that normal output alone could not certify a favourable welfare state. The study concluded that welfare assessment was better supported when production records were interpreted alongside a small set of context-appropriate animal-based indicators.
Article Details
Section
References
Becker, C. A., Collier, R. J., & Stone, A. E. (2020). Invited review: Physiological and behavioral effects of heat stress in dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science, 103(8), 6751-6770. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2019-17929
Boissy, A., Manteuffel, G., Jensen, M. B., Moe, R. O., Spruijt, B., Keeling, L. J., Winckler, C., Forkman, B., Dimitrov, I., Langbein, J., Bakken, M., Veissier, I., & Aubert, A. (2007). Assessment of positive emotions in animals to improve their welfare. Physiology & Behavior, 92(3), 375-397. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2007.02.003
Botreau, R., Bonde, M., Butterworth, A., Perny, P., Bracke, M. B. M., Capdeville, J., & Veissier, I. (2007a). Aggregation of measures to produce an overall assessment of animal welfare. Part 1: A review of existing methods. Animal, 1(8), 1179-1187. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731107000535
Botreau, R., Bracke, M. B. M., Perny, P., Butterworth, A., Capdeville, J., Van Reenen, C. G., & Veissier, I. (2007b). Aggregation of measures to produce an overall assessment of animal welfare. Part 2: Analysis of constraints. Animal, 1(8), 1188-1197. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1751731107000547
Broom, D. M. (1991). Animal welfare: Concepts and measurement. Journal of Animal Science, 69(10), 4167-4175. https://doi.org/10.2527/1991.69104167x
Colditz, I. G., Campbell, D. L. M., Ingham, A. B., & Lee, C. (2024). Review: Environmental enrichment builds functional capacity and improves resilience as an aspect of positive welfare in production animals. Animal, 18(6), 101173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101173
Colditz, I. G., & Hine, B. C. (2016). Resilience in farm animals: Biology, management, breeding and implications for animal welfare. Animal Production Science, 56(12), 1961-1983. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15297
Dawkins, M. S. (2017). Animal welfare and efficient farming: Is conflict inevitable? Animal Production Science, 57(2), 201-208. https://doi.org/10.1071/AN15383
Dwyer, C. M., Jørgensen, G. H. M., & Gautier, J.-M. (2026). Review: How do we measure welfare on farm? Indicators, proxies and gold standards. Animal, 20(Suppl. 1), 101790. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2026.101790
EFSA Panel on Animal Health and Welfare. (2012). Statement on the use of animal-based measures to assess the welfare of animals. EFSA Journal, 10(6), 2767. https://doi.org/10.2903/j.efsa.2012.2767
Fraser, D. (2008). Understanding animal welfare. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 50(Suppl. 1), S1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-50-S1-S1
Hartcher, K. M., & Lum, H. K. (2020). Genetic selection of broilers and welfare consequences: A review. World's Poultry Science Journal, 76(1), 154-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/00439339.2019.1680025
Huber, K. (2024). Review: Welfare in farm animals from an animal-centred point of view. Animal, 18(10), 101311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2024.101311
Jaakkola, E. (2020). Designing conceptual articles: Four approaches. AMS Review, 10(1-2), 18-26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13162-020-00161-0
Jurkovich, V., Hejel, P., & Kovács, L. (2024). A review of the effects of stress on dairy cattle behaviour. Animals, 14(14), 2038. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14142038
Korte, S. M., Olivier, B., & Koolhaas, J. M. (2007). A new animal welfare concept based on allostasis. Physiology & Behavior, 92(3), 422-428. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.10.018
Lanzoni, L., Whatford, L., Atzori, A. S., Chincarini, M., Giammarco, M., Fusaro, I., & Vignola, G. (2023). Review: The challenge to integrate animal welfare indicators into the Life Cycle Assessment. Animal, 17(5), 100794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2023.100794
Lawrence, A. B., Vigors, B., & Sandøe, P. (2019). What is so positive about positive animal welfare? A critical review of the literature. Animals, 9(10), 783. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100783
Linstädt, J., Thöne-Reineke, C., & Merle, R. (2024). Animal-based welfare indicators for dairy cows and their validity and practicality: A systematic review of the existing literature. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11, 1429097. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1429097
Mattiello, S., Battini, M., De Rosa, G., Napolitano, F., & Dwyer, C. (2019). How can we assess positive welfare in ruminants? Animals, 9(10), 758. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9100758
McEwen, B. S. (1998). Stress, adaptation, and disease: Allostasis and allostatic load. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 840, 33-44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb09546.x
Mellor, D. J. (2016). Updating animal welfare thinking: Moving beyond the 'Five Freedoms' towards 'A Life Worth Living'. Animals, 6(3), 21. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6030021
Mellor, D. J., Beausoleil, N. J., Littlewood, K. E., McLean, A. N., McGreevy, P. D., Jones, B., & Wilkins, C. (2020). The 2020 Five Domains Model: Including human-animal interactions in assessments of animal welfare. Animals, 10(10), 1870. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10101870
Riber, A. B., & Wurtz, K. E. (2024). Impact of growth rate on the welfare of broilers. Animals, 14(22), 3330. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani14223330
Rutherford, K. M. D., Baxter, E. M., D'Eath, R. B., Turner, S. P., Arnott, G., Roehe, R., Ask, B., Sandøe, P., Moustsen, V. A., Thorup, F., Edwards, S. A., Berg, P., & Lawrence, A. B. (2013). The welfare implications of large litter size in the domestic pig I: Biological factors. Animal Welfare, 22(2), 199-218. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.22.2.199
Seeley, K. E., Proudfoot, K. L., & Edes, A. N. (2022). The application of allostasis and allostatic load in animal species: A scoping review. PLoS ONE, 17(8), e0273838. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0273838
Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039
Spigarelli, C., Zuliani, A., Battini, M., Mattiello, S., & Bovolenta, S. (2020). Welfare assessment on pasture: A review on animal-based measures for ruminants. Animals, 10(4), 609. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10040609
Taghipoor, M., Pastell, M., Martin, O., Nguyen Ba, H., van Milgen, J., Doeschl-Wilson, A., Loncke, C., Friggens, N. C., Puillet, L., & Muñoz-Tamayo, R. (2023). Animal board invited review: Quantification of resilience in farm animals. Animal, 17(9), 100925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2023.100925
Whay, H. R., & Shearer, J. K. (2017). The impact of lameness on welfare of the dairy cow. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Food Animal Practice, 33(2), 153-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cvfa.2017.02.008
Yeates, J. W., & Main, D. C. J. (2008). Assessment of positive welfare: A review. The Veterinary Journal, 175(3), 293-300. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2007.05.009
Webster, J. (2016). Animal welfare: Freedoms, dominions and 'A Life Worth Living'. Animals, 6(6), 35. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani6060035