NCR131: Animal Behavior and Welfare
Statement of Issues and Justification
The organizational meeting of the NCR-131 Committee on Animal Care and Behavior was held in Chicago on October 15, 1981. Requests for renewal were submitted and approved in 1983, 1987, 1990, 1993, and 1998. There is a consensus that the committee has served an important role and should be continued. There are two major activities that committee members feel need continuing support:Addressing animal welfare issues. There is growing concern among the general public, retailers, special interests groups and the scientific community with regard to the well-being of animals used in research and production agriculture. Research efforts concentrating on elucidating behavioral responses to stressors and the cognitive ability of farm animals will help to provide objective data to resolve animal welfare issues. Interaction and exchange or information between committee members is essential for the development of effective quality assurance programs for food producing animals that include animal welfare or humane officer training classes. Networking among members is extremely beneficial for developing or responding to public policy concerns and development of regulations at a state and federal level.
Facilitating animal behavior research. Scientific data that describe impacts of management systems and practices on animal welfare are sparse and inadequate for establishing working guidelines for farm animal workers and producers. There is a continuing need for both basic and applied animal behavior research that is multidisciplinary and individual discipline based to increase knowledge and understanding.
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