Rating of animal welfare in Marchigiana beef farms in Marche Region

Introduction - The breeding of Marchigiana cattle breed in the Marche Region, still plays a very important role in the rural realities of the region. In recent decades the methods of breeding of this breed have changed significantly and today, in addition to family farms, there are actually farms of considerable size, which breed this cattle intensively. Aim - It has gone from this variability to investigate any differences between the management of these farms and the level of animal welfare inside them . Material and methods - This aim was reached giving a questionnaire to the breeders of 36 farms asking them to clinical and health aspects, managerial and structural aspects, and the drug management. To each question was assigned a score from 1 to 3. At the same time, blood samples were performed on 270 calves under 6 months of age to evaluate some non-specific immune parameters (serum- amyloid A, haptoglobin, serum lysozyme, complement and bactericidal activities of serum). Results and discussion - According to our classification 15 farms were considered to have good management, 15 an intermediate level of management and 6 mismanagement. The questionnaire also showed that 22 out of 36 companies do not carry out quarantine, only 6 companies make annual checks on the herd even without symptoms. The 67% of farms (n. 24) has reproductive problems, among which the most frequently turns out to be a return to heat (87%). Only 3 companies make use of advice from a nutritionist and only 4 have made the last three therapies based on a complete diagnosis (clinical diagnosis and direct diagnosis of laboratory). It was observed statistically significant association (OR = 3.1; 95% CI 1.6 to 6; p=0.01) between the number of animals in a farm, the enteric diseases and mortality in calves under six months. In companies with a number = 80 of cattle units, the calves had a 3 times greater probability of developing intestinal disease or to die. Regarding the innate immunity parameters we can say that there is no difference between the values registered in the farms with a better or worse management. Conclusions - This shows that despite the selective pressure to which the Marchigiana cattle breed has undergone in the last decade, this bovine still keeps its rustic character that make it suitable to be breed also in the reality in which bacterial and viral loads are particularly high.