Farm animals thrive when treated as individuals, not just a herd
Researchers argue that livestock welfare improves dramatically when farmers recognize each animal's unique personality and social bonds—shifting the focus from simply avoiding suffering to enabling genuinely positive lives. The finding could reshape farm management practices and influence animal welfare standards that affect the $1.3 trillion global livestock industry.
Originaltitel: Review: The roles of individuality and social life in shaping positive animal welfare in livestock species.
Positiv djurvälbefinnande på gårdar kräver ett paradigmskifte från fokus på skada till aktivt skapande av välmående. En ny forskningsöversikt från schweiziska och tyska institutioner visar att framgång beror på att kombinera individuell variation bland djuren med deras naturliga sociala behov. Djurens enskilda förmåga att uppfatta miljön skiljer sig åt, och dessa skillnader påverkar hur väl de mår i gruppsituationer. Forskarna identifierar affiliativa interaktioner — positiva sociala kontakter — som nyckeln till stabila grupper med högre välbefinnande. Arbetet behandlar sociabilitet och social kompetens som framtida forskningsområden. För producenter och regulatörer innebär detta att framtida välfärdsstandarder måste utgå från individuell anpassning snarare än enhetliga regler. Resultaten är relevanta för certifieringskrav och djurhälsoprotokoll inom livsmedelsproduktionen.
Positive animal welfare (PAW) emphasises "a good life" marked by the experience of predominantly positive affective states, and the development of competence and resilience according to species-specific and individual capabilities. Even though the concept of PAW has received increasing attention in past years, guidance for shaping future PAW-friendly farming systems is lacking. As highly social species, farmed animals have the potential to experience a rich social life that can influence their welfare. This has often been studied through the lens of negative interactions. However, to advance research on PAW, a focus shift on how affiliative interactions can contribute to and maintain positive group dynamics is needed. Affiliative interactions are mostly based on social preferences that are, in turn, dependent on the individuals involved and their contribution to group cohesion. Acknowledging the uniqueness of each individual in their perception, cognition and appraisal is a challenge for ensuring PAW not only at the individual level but also at the group level. In this narrative review, we argue that combining the study of individuality and social life will generate practical knowledge that can be used for promoting PAW. We first examine how individual differences in sensory and cognitive capabilities shape vertebrate animals' appraisal of their environment and influence PAW. We then discuss key features of (intraspecific and interspecific) social life, such as affiliative interactions, social facilitation and socialisation, and their relevance for PAW. Finally, we explore how the interplay between individuality and social life can create conditions conducive to PAW. For this, we focus on the concepts of sociability and social competence as promising future research areas. Collectively, this review illustrates a complex framework emerging from the interplay between individuality and social life and paves the way for promoting PAW on farms and improving animal management.