all over brought to an end gradually cages chains closed in conscious gestation litter profit prohibited to raise female pigs young pigs

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1 M O D U L E 7 LIVESTOCK PLANTS AND FARM 4CROPS HUSBANDRY U N I T 1 RUMINANT LIVESTOCK 1 Read the text and decide which of the expressions below can be used instead of those underlined in the passage. all over brought to an end gradually cages chains closed in conscious gestation litter profit prohibited to raise female pigs young pigs THE DIRECTIVE 2008/120/EC ON THE PROTECTION OF PIGS: ANIMAL WELFARE DILEMMAS One of the advances made by European Commission was to recognise farm animals as sentient (1)... beings rather than agricultural products. Since 1 January 2013, in all EU Member States it has been prohibited to breed sows (2)... in individual stalls, with the exception of the first four weeks of pregnancy (3)... and the week before giving birth. Sow stalls, which were banned (4)... in Sweden in 1994, in the UK in 1999 and now, at last, throughout (5)... the Union, are extremely narrow cages that act like prisons for the sows kept in them, limiting their movement to the extent that they cannot even turn around. Their movements are restricted to just a few basic steps forward or backwards. For an animal that scientific research shows to be highly active, being confined to a life in a stall is severely limiting such natural behaviours as rooting, foraging and exploring, rolling over to cool down, huddling together with other pigs or using bedding (6)... to keep warm. The impossibility of moving around in this way causes discomfort and often, the sows, with nothing to do, end up biting the bars of the cage out of frustration, boredom or hunger. The ban on sow stalls, even if partial, is vital for the welfare of these animals, especially since, after their pregnancies, they are moved into equally cramped (7)... farrowing crates, where they are unable to express their fundamental natural instinct to build 1 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino

2 a nest for giving birth and where they are separated from their piglets (8)... by bars. The ban on sow stalls and tethers (9)... follows the EU-wide ban on veal crates (10)... for calves which came into force in 2007 and the ban on conventional battery cages for laying hens which came into force on 1 st January Unfortunately, the Directive permits the use of enriched cages. The floor space and height required by the Directive in enriched cages is only slightly greater than that required in conventional battery cages. Although the most intensive, behaviourally restrictive systems had been phased out (11) (battery chickens, veal crates, sow tethers), still there can be important differences between member states and their private application of legislation. Last but not least, consumers seem to be generally unaware of this difference in production methods and the pig industry got little reward (12)... for its more animal welfare friendly systems. 2 Match each term with its Italian equivalent. a. gabbie da parto 1. foraging b. grufolare (razzolare in cerca di cibo grugnendo) 2. veal crates for calves c. andare alla ricerca di cibo 3. battery cages d. rotolarsi nel fango per rinfrescarsi 4. rolling over to cool down e. accalcarsi 5. sow stalls/farrowing crates f. posta singola per vitelli 6. laying hens g. gabbie di batteria 7. sow tethers h. galline ovaiole 8. rooting i. gabbie attrezzate o modificate 9. enriched cages j. attacchi per scrofe 10. huddling together 2 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino

3 U N I T 2 NON-RUMINANT LIVESTOCK 1 Fill in the blanks with the suitable prepositions. ENSURING A FUTURE FOR THE UK S RARE BREEDS OF NATIVE LIVESTOCK Between 1900 and 1973, 26 native breeds (1)... livestock and many varieties of poultry became extinct. This was caused (2)... changing farming methods and a much more intensive approach (3)... food production. In the 1960s, a small group of pioneers launched a campaign to prevent further losses of native breeds. Their vision was translated (4) into RBST (Rare Breeds Survival Trust), an organisation dedicated to the conservation of Britain s livestock heritage. RBST was the first national charity created (5)... the genetic conservation and has acted (6)... a model for similar organisations in many other countries. Since RBST s formation no native breed has been lost. In 2001, the whole country was shaken by the devastating effects of the outbreak of foot and mouth disease (FMD) which saw the destruction of thousands of farm animals. Rarity is no protection (7)... the measures which have to be taken to contain outbreaks (8)... FMD and this event emphasized the need (9)... preserve genetic resources of rare breeds, should such a situation arise again. For the future, the target of the trust is to facilitate and encourage the conservation of native livestock breeds, both for their intrinsic value and for their significant contribution to wider sustainability. Every year RBST issues its annual Watchlist, which highlights any changes in breed population trends and plots the success of the Trust s key charitable objective, namely the preservation of farm livestock biodiversity in the UK. The role of RBST is wide-ranging and includes: monitoring the population of breeds promoting the value of native breeds to the public and representing their interests to government contributing to scientific research supporting and encouraging responsible breeding programmes working (10)... governments to minimise the impact of disease outbreaks maintaining and developing a genetic archive: the National Gene Bank containing genetic material (11)... rare cattle, sheep, goat, pig and equine breeds (12)... the RBST Watchlist. The aim of the project is to collect straws of semen from 25 males of each breed, 3 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino

4 as unrelated as possible to represent the widest range of genetic diversity available from the current population. RBST has its headquarters (13)... the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh Park (14)... Warwickshire and is supported by a network of volunteer support groups which represent RBST (15)... shows, events and fundraise (16)... the charity. 2 Choose the false option. 1. The Rare Breeds Survival Trust a. is the leading European charity working to conserve native livestock breeds. b. protects the UK s rare native breeds of farm animals from extinction. c. has been working since d. safeguards Britain s remaining native breeds from extinction. 2. FMD a. is a foot and mouth disease. b. broke out in the UK in c. led to the extinction of some breeds. d. outbreak highlighted how important genetic archives are. 3. The main targets of RBST are a. securing the continued existence and viability of the UK s native farm animal genetic resources. b. gathering information to produce population statistics for all endangered breeds. c. rising funds from farmers. d. co-operating with research organisations. 4. The Watchlist a. is the most important document issued by RBST. b. is produced annually. c. monitors the population of breeds. d. lists native and non-native breeds. 5. In 1973 some concerned farmers a. felt that so many ancient British breeds of farm livestock had been lost forever. b. thought that something should be done to ensure no more breeds became extinct. c. pioneered genetic conservation of farm livestock. d. felt that genetic resources of rare breeds did not have to be preserved. 6. A Gene Bank a. collects semen of different breeds. b. stores straws of semen for use in conservation breeding programmes. c. is a bank of geniuses. d. is a genetic archive. 7. Support groups a. help at raising funds for charity. b. have their headquarters at the National Agricultural Centre. c. organise events to promote the value of native breeds to the public. d. are a network of volunteers throughout the country. 4 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino

5 U N I T 3 OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS IN LIVESTOCK MANAGEMENT ANIMAL WELFARE DURING TRANSPORT The need to transport food animals occurs essentially in commercial agriculture and to a lesser extent in the rural or subsistence sector. These animals need to be moved for a number of reasons including marketing, slaughter, re-stocking, from drought areas to better grazing and change of ownership. Historically, livestock has been moved on hoof but with increasing urbanisation of the population and commercialisation of animal production, livestock transport by road and rail vehicles has surpassed this. Transport of livestock is undoubtedly the most stressful and injurious stage in the chain of operations between farm and slaughterhouse and contributes significantly to poor animal welfare and loss of production. For this reason the European Union has regulated transport of live vertebrate animals with the aim to prevent injury or undue suffering to animals and to ensure that they have appropriate conditions that meet their needs. The Cou ncil Regulation (EC) No. 1/2005 introduces stricter rules on journeys exceeding eight hours and provides that transport vehicles must be fitted with equipment of the highest quality, including a temperature monitoring system and permanent access to drinking water. Well-ventilated vehicles are necessary as poor ventilation may cause undue stress and even suffocation, particularly if the weather is hot, or accumulation of exhaust fumes in road vehicles with subsequent poisoning. Pigs are particularly susceptible to excessive heat, poor air circulation, high humidity and respiratory stress. Furthermore, any vehicle used for the transport of slaughter livestock should have a non-slip floor to reduce the risk of animals falling with proper drainage and protection from the sun and rain, particularly for pigs. The surfaces of the sides should be smooth and there should be no protrusions or sharp edges. Additional balance for animals can be provided by partitioning the interior of the vehicle with either wood or metal poles or solid boards. The regulation prohibits transport of very young animals: calves of less than 10 days, pigs of less than three weeks and lambs of less than a week, except where the journey does not exceed 100 km. Also females in the last stages of gestation and during the first week after giving birth are not allowed to be transported. Space allowances for animals and journey times are very important. Overloading may result in injuries or even death of livestock. The way of calculation of the spaces depends on the animal type: for cattle and sheep, it is recommended that space allowances should be calculated according to an allometric equation relating size to body weight; for horses on long journeys, it is obligatory to use individual stalls. In a few words it is necessary to allow each type of livestock sufficient floor space so that they can stand comfortably without being overcrowded. 5 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino

6 In terms of journey times, the regulation provides for different times depending on the type of animal: unweaned animals, i.e. animals still drinking milk (nine hours of travel, followed by one hour s rest to enable the animals to drink, followed by a further nine hours of travel), pigs (24 hours of travel, provided there is continuous access to water), horses (24 hours of travel, with access to water every eight hours), cattle, sheep and goats (14 hours of travel, followed by one hour s rest to enable the animals to drink, followed by a further 14 hours of travel). 1 For each of the words below decide which meaning best applies to the context of the passage above. a. occurs: si verifica/occorre b. injurious: ingiurioso/dannoso c. poor: scarso/povero d. prevent: prevenire/proibire e. meet: incontrare/soddisfare f. undue: non necessario/non richiesto g. susceptible: impressionabile/sensibile h. smooth: levigato/armonioso i. stall: stalla/cabina j. journey: percorso/giornata 2 Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)? Correct the false ones. a. Livestock are transported only for slaughtering. b. Re-stocking means moving animals to better grazing areas. c. Transporting animals by road and rail is less common than transport on hoof. d. The EU regulated the transport of animals in order to improve animal welfare. e. Transport vehicles must be totally enclosed to prevent animal escaping. f. High temperature and humidity do not generally affect pigs. g. Very young animals are not allowed to be transported for more than 100 km. h. Animals subject to long distance travels without proper watering may die. T F 6 Estensione online del corso Careggio, Indraccolo - Agriways EDISCO Editrice, Torino