HUMAN BEHAVIOUR DURING HANDLING AFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE

THE BENEFITS OF LOW STRESS HANDLING

Livestock handling can be a stressful time for both humans and livestock. Stress affects the bottom line. Dr. Temple Grandin, noted cattle behaviour expert, has been an advocate of lowering stress during handling as a means of:

• reducing bruising ,
• increasing productivity, and
• maintaining meat quality.

Dylan Biggs teaches low-stress cattle handling clinics, showing people how their behaviour affects cattle movements. "It’s a kind of communication between cattle and people," says Biggs. "It's easy to move cattle when things are going right. It's how you handle things when they go wrong that makes the difference."

Glen and Doreen Hicks run a beef operation in Manitoba and have taken Dylan's clinics. Low-stress handling has made their work easier and safer. Glen Hicks notes that, while his results are not scientific, they have experienced lower shrinkage when shipping animals since implementing low stress methods. "If you're in the cattle business it [low stress handling] will be worth it."

Richard Davies of VT Feeders, who has worked with Bud Williams – a noted ‘cattle whisperer’ says, "People have to accept that there is another way of doing things to get results." However, "they can get a lot of benefit from changing just a few things."

The hardest part of the course is getting people to override their own instincts and get into the right mental state. "Humans want to dominate animals. It's our human instinct," says Davies. "Your mental state and intent are apparent to the animals and will affect their reactions. You can still have disasters, even when you use the methods," says Richard Davies. When that happens you learn from it, fix the problems and move on.

With 20 years in pig production, Nancy Lidster took Bud Williams’ low stress handling course and, in consultation with Bud, developed the course, Effective Pig Handling. Nancy states, "the manner in which pigs are handled has a major impact on both their behaviour and productivity." The course has been promoted by the Farm Animal Council of Saskatchewan and garnered positive responses in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.

The most limiting factor in animal productivity and welfare is the easiest one to change: the human factor, according to Dr. Paul Hemsworth, an Australian researcher. Hemsworth explains that simply showing people how to handle animals is not enough. Attitude is everything – pigs that are handled by stockpeople with a positive attitude perform better. The best stockpeople:

• like their pigs,
• are determined to meet the pig’s needs,
• have a good understanding of the requirements of their pigs, and
• can translate this understanding through their handling practices into a high level of care, which results in a high level of pig health, welfare and performance.

A relationship exists between human attitudes and behaviour, and this link has a significant impact on livestock productivity and welfare.