A Scoping Review: The Impact of Housing Systems and Environmental Features on Beef Cattle Welfare

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Reviews are needed to synthesize known information on a particular topic. Beef cattle welfare is an emergent research field. Decisions producers make, such as how to house cattle, can impact their overall welfare. Environmental features that can influence the microclimate and beef cattle welfare include floor type, space allowance, shade availability, and inclusion of enrichment (EE) devices or ventilation features. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review was to examine the relationship between housing and welfare metrics, so that beef cattle producers and animal scientists can make informed decisions regarding how their housing choices may impact beef cattle welfare. The databases searched were CAB (Ovid), AGRIS (Ovid), Agricola (EBSCO) and Searchable Proceedings of Animal Conferences. The final search was conducted on June 4, 2018. One reviewer determined relevancy of studies based on titles and abstracts. The full text was reviewed to determine study inclusion and four trained reviewers collected data from the included studies using pre-defined forms. From 1147 citations, 40 studies were included that evaluated the impact of a feature of beef cattle housing on welfare. In this review, we outlined how these features may positively or negatively impact cattle health, productivity, stress and behavior. Our main findings were as follows: (1) Space allowance influences feedlot cattle biology and behavior (2) Veal calves exhibited behavioral, physiological, and performance parameters indicative of a positive welfare state while group housed and (3) Provision of progressive modifications (e.g., shade, EE) to the feedlot environment resulted in increased performance of species-specific behaviors ABSTRACT: Housing systems and environmental features can influence beef cattle welfare. To date, little information has been synthesized on this topic. The aim of this scoping review was to examine the relationship between housing and welfare status, so that beef cattle producers and animal scientists can make informed decisions regarding how their housing choices could impact beef cattle welfare. Housing features were categorized by floor type, space allowance and shade availability, as well as the inclusion of enrichment devices or ventilation features. Evaluation of space allowances across feedlot environments determined behavioral and production benefits when cattle were housed between 2.5 m(2) to 3.0 m(2) per animal. Over 19 different flooring types were investigated and across flooring types; straw flooring was viewed most favorably from a behavioral, production and hygiene standpoint. Veal calves experience enhanced welfare (e.g., improved behavioral, physiological, and performance metrics) when group housed. There is evidence that the implementation of progressive housing modifications (e.g., shade, environmental enrichment) could promote the behavioral welfare of feedlot cattle. This review presents the advantages and disadvantages of specific housing features on the welfare of beef cattle.