As of: 12/27/2021 8:05 a.m.
Scientists from the Dummerstorf Research Institute for Farm Animal Biology can now measure how stressed a farm animal is in the fur of the animals. The researchers detect the stress hormone cortisol in the animals’ hair.
The keeping conditions of farm animals and the subject of animal welfare have moved more into the focus of the public in recent years. A team of researchers from Dummerstorf is now working to ensure that animals such as cattle, sheep and pigs can live as stress-free as possible. To do this, they have developed a new method to first determine how stressed the animals are – and how this can possibly be reduced.
Even taking the sample is less stressful for the animals
The researchers from the Institute of Farm Animal Biology can now detect the stress hormone cortisol in the fur of the animals. And, according to them, this has two decisive advantages over the usual measurement methods using blood or saliva. First: Taking the samples is relatively relaxed for the animals. And secondly: Since the cortisol is always stored in stressful phases and the hair then continues to grow, you can read the stress level along the hair for the entire past weeks and months. With the previous methods, you can see above all how the animal is doing right now – and that can also be falsified by a stressful blood sample itself.
Stress makes you sick – this also applies to animals
In principle, this method is suitable for anyone who has fur or feathers. However, it is particularly suitable for one species of animal, says project manager Winfried Otten: “We have found that this works with cattle without any problems. However, we have also found that contamination in particular urine and saliva, including licking the animals, can be quite disruptive factors . So we can only take the body’s own that are not exposed to these risk factors as much as possible. It’s easy with cattle, for example the head and neck area. It’s more difficult with pigs. ” The aim, however, is to optimize the method for other animal species in the future. Because: Stress makes you sick, says Otten. Relaxed animals that are fit and healthy also help the farm.
Methodology also for self-control
Some farms have already participated in the research. And in the future, animal owners should also be able to use this method for self-monitoring. For example, you could check whether the animals are doing better after the barn has been converted, says Otten. And this can also be of interest for animal welfare labels – in order to be able to prove how the animals are actually doing.
This topic in the program:
NDR 1 Radio MV | 12/27/2021 | 12:00 o’clock
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