What is veal? Veal is the meat from a younger animal of either a dairy breed, dairy crossbreed or beef breed. Dairy and...
How should farm animals be managed during drought? The frequency of exceptionally hot years, low rainfall and low soil moisture has been increasing in recent decades and this...
Is tethering of farm animals acceptable? Tethering is where an animal is fastened by a chain to a central anchor point, causing it to be confined...
Is permanently housing cows an animal welfare issue? There are nearly 1.7 million dairy cows in Australia. On average, each cow produces close to 5,500 litres of milk...
How can free-range layer hens be encouraged to use the range area? In free-range systems, birds’ use of the outdoor area is dependent on the weather, condition of the range area, the...
How much space does a layer hen need? For layer hens to experience good animal welfare it is important they have enough space to express normal behaviours like...
Does extreme heat affect farm animals? The frequency of exceptionally hot years is expected to continue across Australia in years to come, which means that consecutive...
What is swill and can I feed it to pigs, poultry or other farm animals? Swill is any animal food that contains animal matter such as meat, meat products or meat by-products. It is illegal in...
Are stress levels of hens in battery cages the same as those in cage-free systems? There have been claims that egg industry-commissioned research has demonstrated hen stress levels vary little between cage, barn and free-range...
How can feather pecking be managed in cage-free layer hen systems? Severe feather pecking is an injurious behaviour where hens vigorously peck at and pull out the feathers of other birds....
Why is it important for layer hens to express normal behaviours? The ability to express normal behaviours is important to every hen whether they are housed in cage or cage-free systems....
How much milk should dairy calves be fed? Common dairy industry practice is to feed unweaned calves around 10% of calf body weight in milk daily. However, this...
Can layer hen mortality, pests, parasites, disease and predation be managed in non-cage systems? Mortality The main welfare risks in cage-free systems are the transmission of infectious diseases and severe feather pecking, both of...
Is group housing preferable to individual housing of dairy calves? Calves born in a natural environment will begin interacting with each other at around 1-2 weeks of age when the...
What are the animal welfare issues with dairy goat farming? Goats, particularly young goats, are inquisitive and playful and their housing system must be able to satisfy these natural behaviours....
How are beef cattle reared? Beef cattle are reared outdoors in all Australian states and territories. Southern areas with good pasture have herds with a...
Why are livestock left in paddocks without shade? It is common to see all types of animals in the heat without protection from the sun. While farm animals have various...
What is the difference between, free range, outdoor bred, organic, sow-stall free, RSPCA Approved? ‘Free range’, ‘outdoor bred’, ‘organic’ and ‘sow-stall free’ are terms that are applied to animal-based food products, such as meat...
Why do dairy cows become lame? Foot lameness is a common problem in dairy farming and not unusual in wet conditions. It can be caused by...
What are the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme standards for pigs? Through the RSPCA Approved Farming Scheme the RSPCA works closely with farmers committed to raising pigs to higher animal welfare standards. Since releasing our first animal welfare standards...