Stockmanship and the Interactions between People and Cattle

In the previous chapters, we discussed the way that the welfare of cattle can be affected by how they are housed and fed as well as by the short-term procedures that are done to them. However, one other important component of farming was omitted: the people who care for the animals. The decisions about how animals are housed, how they are fed, and how they are handled are made by people, and it is people who actually perform operations like tail docking, dehorning, etc. There are many ways in which the stockpeople or caretakers can affect the welfare of the animals in their care. The knowledge or technical competence of the stockperson can play a major role if it leads to improper choice of housing, poor feeding methods, or lack of appropriate treatment of illness, and the quality and diligence with which routine tasks are done can be also be important. In addition, a considerable body of research has now shown that the way that animals are handled by people can have a major effect on their welfare (Figure 9.1). The overall importance of stockmanship in ensuring good welfare of farm animals is emphasized in an excellent book by Hemsworth and Coleman (1998), and readers are encouraged to consult this. Until recently, it was true to say that the role of the stockperson or caretaker in affecting the welfare of farm animals had been neglected (Hemsworth, 2003), but this is beginning to change. In this chapter, we focus directly on the research that has examined the role of the stockperson in the welfare of cattle. The points of contact between animals and stockpeople vary substantially depending on the type of production, and so will the importance of stockmanship for animal welfare. Indoor-housed animals will, in general, be more dependent on human care than animals at pasture. The twice- or thrice-daily handling of dairy cows for milking results in far more contact with people than is normally found in extensive beef production systems. Consequently, it is not surprising that most research on stockmanship has been done with dairy cows and veal calves rather than with beef cattle.