ETHOLOGICAL AND ETHOPHYSIOLOGICAL RESEARC H FOR FARM ANIMAL-WELFARE

Title of the paper: Ethological and ethophysiological Research for Far m Animal Welfare. Farm animals have to be kept, housed and handled acc ording to their biological needs. This refers especially to their etho logical and physiological requirements, which have to be identified an d evaluated. Research for animal welfare has been considerably intensi fied during the last 20 years. Some of the main areas have been and st ill are: Identification and completion of the behavioural inventory of farm animals. Development of integrated systems of animal welfare-rel ated indicators. Investigation and evaluation of biological requiremen ts, particularly ethological requirements, and possibilities of their fulfilment in animal husbandry. Research on ethophysiological indicato rs for stress in farm animals. On the background of recent results the following developments can be observed: Adaptation, modification and improvements within existing systems. Development of combined procedur es including the employment of technical development and progress. Ret urning to ''traditional'' systems of animal management and/or developm ent of ''alternative'' procedures. Perspectives and future directions for reasonable developments in animal husbandry, according to welfare needs and based on ethological and ethophysiological findings, should consider the following elements: Optimization within existing manageme nt systems, including their adaptation to animal requirements. Employm ent of modern technologies in welfare oriented housing systems, thus f acilitating group housing of animals without giving up the advantages of single keeping systems. Diversity in livestock breeds, production s ystems and management procedures as a creative principle for future di rections in animal husbandry. Intensive, efficient and interdisciplina ry research is a most significant prerequisite for desirable developme nts and positive perspectives for welfare-oriented management of farm animals.