Investigating the welfare implications of cage size for mink

本项目调查了加拿大毛皮农场水貂笼尺寸对福利的影响，主要调查水貂在选择时选择使用的高度和地板面积，以评估欧洲笼子的更高高度和更大的地板面积是否优于加拿大法规规定的笼子。这个为期3年的项目包括以下四个实验。关于笼高的实验1A和B：水貂从（1A）中取食和在（1B）下进行其他活动时更喜欢什么样的笼内高度？实验2 A和B关于地板面积：当动物在这些地板面积上饲养时，加拿大法规和丹麦法律的地板面积如何比较：水貂应激生理，生长和其他对福利敏感的指标；偏好（即貂是否会自愿选择欧洲笼而不是加拿大笼？）；以及群居动物是如何休息的，尤其是在环境温度很高的时候（这意味着动物可能想平躺着，不接触，以散热）。这些实验中的每一个都是针对最有可能受地板面积影响的生命阶段：大型成对居住的雄性（2A），为了调节体温，它们可能需要空间分散躺在一起，而不需要接触；和单身成年女性（2B），因为对她们来说，丹麦和加拿大的建筑面积差异比任何其他生命阶段都大（加拿大的建筑面积不到欧洲建筑面积的60%）。这将产生非常需要的数据，告知水貂养殖社区笼子设计的各个方面如何影响他们的动物福利；通知下一套国家农场动物护理委员会养殖水貂护理和处理工作守则（将于2018年至2023年修订）和全球其他水貂护理指南，例如在美国使用的指南；并提供客观数据，说明北美使用的相对于欧洲的小笼子是否对水貂的健康有不利影响。这将有利于加拿大这个每年价值约8亿美元的行业的可持续发展，并有助于改善每年超过140万加拿大水貂的福利。

This project investigates the welfare implications of cage size for mink on Canadian fur farms, primarily investigating the heights & floor areas that mink elect to use when given a choice, in order to assess whether the greater heights & larger floor areas of European cages are preferred over those stipulated in Canadian Codes. This 3-year project involves four experiments, as follows. Experiments 1A & B on cage height: what internal cage heights do mink prefer, for feeding from (1A) & for performing other activities under (1B)? Experiments 2 A & B on floor space: How do Canadian Codes & Danish legal floor areas compare in terms of: mink stress physiology, growth & other indicators sensitive to welfare, when animals are raised with these floor areas; preference (i.e. do mink voluntarily choose the floor areas offered by European cages over those offered by Canadian?); and how socially-housed animals rest, especially when ambient temperatures are high (meaning animals may want to lie flat out without touching, to lose heat). Each of these experiments is targeted at a stage of life most likely to be affected by floor area: large pair-housed males (2A), who to thermoregulate may need space to lie spread out without touching; and single adult females (2B), since for them the difference between Danish & Canadian floor areas is greater than at any other life stage (Canadian floor areas are less than 60% of European floor areas). This will produce much needed data for informing the mink farming community how aspects of cage design can affect their animals' welfare; for informing the next set of National Farm Animal Care Council Codes of Practice for the Care & Handling of Farmed Mink (to be revised between 2018 and 2023) & other mink care guidelines around the globe, e.g. those used in the USA; and for providing objective data on whether the smaller cages used in North America relative to Europe have any adverse effects on mink well-being. This should benefit the sustainability of an industry annually worth some $800 million to Canada, and help improve the welfare of more than c. 4 million Canadian mink p.a.