A protocol to assess the welfare of dairy ewes: From science to the field

There is growing societal demand for improved animal welfare. The stakeholders in the industry are also increasingly interested in information and expertise in this area. There is a scientific consensus that an objective assessment should be the foundation for discussions and actions in favour of better animal welfare. However, only a few protocols exist and most of them have been developed for meat-producing sheep and/or are more adapted for an extensive farming context and/or do not include all the five freedoms of animal welfare. Therefore, references are still scarce especially in the field of dairy ewe welfare. This makes the transition from science to practice difficult. The present study was carried out bearing two objectives in mind: (1) to develop a feasible protocol (EBBEL – Evaluation du Bien-être des Brebis en Elevage Laitier / Assessment of sheep welfare in dairy farms) to assess the welfare of dairy ewes and (2) to implement the protocol on a large scale (n = 81 dairy ewe farms under semi-intensive system) in the Roquefort region of France. The animals and the farms were examined in terms of satisfaction of 26 welfare indicators. The results were very informative about the points of excellence but also about those that need to be improved. The database that we developed can serve the scientific community when comparing different production contexts. Beyond the technical results, stakeholder participation in the design process was clearly positive for acceptance of the protocol in the field.