Sustainability and welfare of Podolian cattle |
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| Authors: | F Napolitano C Pacelli A Braghieri |
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| Institution: | a Dipartimento di Scienze delle Produzioni Animali, Università degli Studi della Basilicata, Via dell'Ateneo Lucano 10, 85100 Potenza, Italy
b Dipartimento di Scienze Zootecniche e Ispezione degli Alimenti, Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”, Via Università 133, 80055 Portici (NA), Italy |
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| Abstract: | The aim of the present study was to evaluate the sustainability and welfare of extensively farmed Podolian cattle. A trained interviewer visited 50 farms and filled in a checklist which included four cards corresponding to the following animal categories: calves, replacements, feeders and adults. The analysis of the farming system showed that animals were able to express their main behavioural patterns. In addition, recorded animal-related variables indicated that Podolian cattle could benefit from high standards of welfare. Sustainability of the Podolian farming system in terms of human edible returns was evaluated for two production systems producing 10-month-old calves (10 month) and 18-month-old young bulls (18 month), respectively. Edible returns for humans were low when all animal intakes were considered for both production systems. However, if returns were computed using not only the amount of food used by the animals but also consumable by humans, yields were much higher for 18-month systems 103% crude protein (CP) and 37.1% gross energy (GE)] and so high that they could not be computed for 10-month systems. These results indicate either a low degree of competition (18-month system) or no competition (10-month system) between humans and Podolian cattle. Perceptions of sustainability and welfare of Podolian cattle may promote a favourable positioning of products in premium-price markets and help preserving this breed and the related traditional farming system. |
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| Keywords: | Sustainability Animal welfare Podolian cattle Natural behaviour |
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