LivestockMembers of the Commons farming committee told food security minister Stephen Morgan that Defra's proposal to replace CO2 stunning of pigs with argon or electrical stunning is out ahead of the evidence, with 15,000 pigs already backed up on farms.
OpinionIn a Krishi Jagran column, Elissa Lane argues that corporate cage-free pledges in India and Asia depend on farmers getting training, finance and a clear view of buyer demand.
LivestockDefra wants abattoirs to move to argon gas or automated electrical stunning on welfare grounds and is consulting until 21 December; the National Pig Association says no viable alternative at scale has been found.
LivestockVet Mel Julian of Cross Counties Farm Vets says drive-by routines cut contact between cattle and people, raising stress and injury risk at handling, and suggests daily interaction and familiarising animals with handling systems.
EnvironmentThe Animals for Biodiversity and Health guide, launched at the UN biodiversity summit in Yerevan, links animal welfare to zoonotic disease and antimicrobial resistance and cites Bangladesh's One Health framework.
LivestockThe freeze on new conventional pig farms and expansions, part of a reform to cut production and live exports, is due on 26 October; the Danish Agriculture and Food Council warns of compensation claims.
An African rhinoceros alone since 2013, a hamadryas baboon, a kangaroo and seven more animals at the National Zoo in Mirpur have no mate of their own species, in pictures by Prothom Alo's Mir Hossain.
LivestockPenn State Extension says individual and group calving pens both work if farms keep them clean, uncrowded and low-stress, with about 13 square metres of resting space per cow and room for 120% of the average calving rate.
LivestockCanadian ranchers are using dart guns to treat cattle that cannot easily be handled, but vets and Manitoba Agriculture say the practice needs training, suitable drugs and a protocol agreed with a veterinarian.
LivestockHarper Adams University's 230-sow pig unit, now weaning over 37 pigs per sow a year, lost no pigs to this summer's heat after installing evaporative cooling, and is trialling a filterless air-cleaning system that cut ammonia by 40 percent and finishing diets with no soya.
LivestockAfter the 'Pig Election', Denmark's government wants fewer live pig exports, a tail-docking phase-out by 2030, a 12-month freeze on new units and far stricter nitrate limits, while prices sit near £1/kg.
LivestockThe UK assurance scheme Red Tractor will open a consultation in November on revised pig standards, including a full standard for flexible farrowing systems and stronger biosecurity against African swine fever.
LivestockThe Premium Food Mark sets standards above existing UAE rules for the whole poultry chain, from farming and feed to slaughter, processing, packaging and distribution, with quality tiers still to be published.
