Animal welfare: scientific advances and innovations for sustainable livestock farming systems – Foreword

Abstract

Respect for animal welfare is a strong demand from society with regard to livestock farming systems. This special issue, comprising nine articles, reviews scientific advances (taking into account the positive mental states of animals, better understanding and management of pain), technological innovations (enrichment of the farming environment and precision farming techniques) and participatory approaches to the design of farming systems that fully integrate animal welfare into sustainability objectives. This special issue also analyzes the relationship between respect for animal welfare and the economic and environmental performances of farming systems, as well as its integration into the One Welfare approach, which also takes into account human welfare and respect for the environment.