Antimicrobial stewardship guidelines (ASGs) represent an important tool to help veterinarians optimize their antimicrobial use with the objective of decreasing antimicrobial resistance. The aim of this study was to map and qualitatively assess the ASGs for antimicrobial use in cats and dogs in Europe. Country representatives of the European Network for Optimization of Veterinary Antimicrobial Treatment (ENOVAT) were asked to identify ASGs published in their countries. All collated ASGs updated since January 2010 containing recommendations on antimicrobial therapy for at least three conditions affecting different organ systems in cats and dogs underwent detailed review including AGREE II analysis. Out of forty countries investigated, fifteen ASGs from eleven countries met the inclusion criteria. Several critical principles of antimicrobial use were identified, providing a framework that should assist development of stewardship guidance. The AGREE II analysis highlighted several methodological limitations of the currently available ASGs. This study sheds light on the lack of national ASGs for dogs and cats in multiple European countries and should encourage national bodies to prioritize guideline development in small animals. A greater awareness of the need to use a structured approach to guideline development could improve the quality of ASGs in the future.

This study tested the reliability of a Qualitative Behavioural Assessment (QBA) protocol developed for the Norwegian Sheep House (FåreBygg) project. The aim was to verify whether QBA scores were consistent between different observers, i.e., inter-observer reliability, and between scorings of the same observers on different time points, i.e., intra-observer reliability. Six trained observers, including two veterinary students, two animal welfare inspectors and two sheep farmers observed sheep in 16 videos, and independently scored 14 pre-defined behavioural descriptors on visual analogue scales (VAS). The procedure was repeated one week after the first scoring session. QBA scores were analysed using Principal Component Analysis. Inter- and intra-observer agreement was assessed using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance (W). Principal component 1 (PC 1) and 2 (PC 2) combined explained >60% of the total variation in the QBA scores in both scoring sessions. PC 1 (44.5% in sessions 1 and 2) ranged from the positive descriptors calm, content, relaxed and friendly to the negative descriptors uneasy, vigilant and fearful, and was therefore labelled mood. PC 2 (18% in session 1, 16.6% in session 2) ranged from bright to dejected and apathetic, and was therefore labelled arousal. Kendall’s coefficient of concordance of PC 1 for all observers was high in the two scoring sessions (W = 0.87 and 0.85, respectively), indicating good inter-observer reliability. For PC 2, the agreement for all observers was moderate in both video sessions (W = 0.45 and 0.65). The intra-observer agreement was very high for all observers for PC 1 (W > 0.9) except for one, where the agreement was considered to be high (W = 0.89). For PC 2, Kendall’s coefficient was very high for the veterinary students and interpreted as moderate for the two farmers and welfare inspectors. This study indicates that the QBA approach and the terms included in the Fårebygg protocol were reliable for assessing video recordings of sheep behaviour when applied by trained observers, regardless of whether they were a veterinary student, animal welfare inspector or sheep farmer. Further work is needed to examine the reliability of the QBA protocol when tested on-farms for sheep managed under Norwegian housing systems.

A scientific literature review and consensus of expert opinion used the welfare definitions provided by the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) Five Freedoms as the framework for selecting a set of animal-based indicators that were sensitive to the current on-farm welfare issues of young lambs (aged demeanour, response to stimulation, shivering, standing ability, posture, abdominal fill, body condition, lameness, eye condition and salivation were tested as part of the objective of developing valid, reliable and feasible animal-based measures of lamb welfare The indicators were independently tested on 966 young lambs from 17 sheep flocks across Northwest England and Wales during December 2008 to April 2009 by four trained observers. Inter-observer reliability was assessed using Fleiss's kappa (test standard observer. Latent class analysis (LCA) estimated the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of each observer without assuming a gold standard and predicted the Se and Sp of randomly selected observers who may apply the indicators in the future. Overall, good levels of inter-observer reliability, and high levels of Sp were identified for demeanour ( 0.70, Sp = 0.57, Se = 0.30 to 0.77, Sp = 0.55, Se = 0.37 to 0.85, Sp 0.80, Sp = 0.45, Se = 0.44, Se = 0.39 to 0.98, Sp = 0.99), body condition ( 0.38 to 0.90, Sp = 0.99), lameness ( = 0.72, Se 0.98 (high) for assessments of demeanour, lameness, abdominal fill posture, body condition and eye condition. The diagnostic performance of some indicators was influenced by the composition of the study population, and it would be useful to test the indicators on lambs with a greater level of outcomes associated with poor welfare. The findings presented in this paper could be applied in the selection of valid, reliable and feasible indicators used for the purposes of on-farm assessments of lamb welfare.

Background: Outbreaks of infectious arthritis in young lambs associated with Streptococcus dysgalactiae subspecies dysgalactiae (SDSD) lead to reduced animal welfare, increased use of antibiotics and economic losses for sheep farmers. Understanding risk factors is essential when developing strategies to prevent such outbreaks. This questionnaire-based cross-sectional study classified sheep flocks of respondents as cases or controls. Flock-level risk factors for outbreaks of infectious arthritis were assessed using a multivariable logistic regression model. Results: Eighty-four of 1498 respondents (5.6%) experienced an outbreak of infectious arthritis in their flock in 2018, the year of study. Factors associated with a higher risk of outbreak were larger flock size (OR 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.4, per 100 lambs), plastic mesh flooring in the lambing pen (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.7–5.3) and a lambing percentage greater than 200 (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1–3.5). Flocks where farmers observed infections around the ear tags of lambs also had an increased risk of outbreak (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.6–4.3). Conclusions: The risk factors identified in this study are characteristic of modern and intensively managed sheep farms in Norway. A distinguishing feature of Norwegian sheep farming is winter housing and indoor lambing. One might expect that this in itself is a risk factor because of high stocking densities during lambing. However, outbreaks of infectious arthritis in young lambs are reported by the industry to be a more recent phenomenon. The current study indicates that intensification of indoor management systems with larger flocks and higher production per ewe may predispose to outbreaks. The results provide a basis for further studies on transmission dynamics of SDSD in sheep flocks with indoor lambing.

Sixteen animal-based indicators of sheep welfare, previously selected by a stakeholder panel, and based on the Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) Five Freedoms, were assessed in terms of the level of inter-observer agreement achieved during on-farm testing. Eight observers independently tested the 16 indicators on 1158 sheep from 38 farms in England and Wales. Overall inter-observer agreement was evaluated by Fleiss’s kappa (κ), and the pair-wise agreement of each observer was compared to a ‘test standard’ observer (TSO). Inter-observer assessments of the welfare indicators; dental abnormality, cleanliness score (ventral abdomen), mastitis, tail length, skin lesions, body condition scoring and lameness produced ‘fair to good’ levels of agreement (0.40 < κ < 0.75) and joint swellings had ‘excellent’ levels of agreement (κ ≥ 0.75). The very low apparent prevalence (<0.8%) of sheep with specific outcomes such as pruritis, wool loss, myiasis, thin body condition, diffuse or severe skin lesions limited kappa analysis for these indicators. Overall, findings suggest that observers of differing experience, training and occupation were reliable in assessing key animal-based indicators of sheep health and welfare.

The outbreak of a previously unknown and new disease in the United Kingdom, known as ‘Schmallenberg disease’, a disease associated with abortions, stillbirths and fetal deformities in naïve ewes, was reported for the first time in South West England during the 2012/13 early lambing season. Epidemiological studies confirmed that the Schmallenberg virus (SBV) had a severe negative impact upon animal welfare and the productivity of affected flocks. By contrast, there was a specific lack of research on the impact of SBV on sheep farmer well-being. This study aimed to improve our understanding of sheep farmers’ experiences of Schmallenberg disease, and the impact of the first outbreak on sheep farmer well-being during the 2012/13 early lambing season in South West England. Face-to-face, semi-structured interviews with six farmers with small flocks of pedigree and purebred sheep in South West England were conducted in 2013. The data were analysed via thematic analysis. The main themes regarding the impact of disease on farmer well-being included: (i) emotional highs and lows are part of a normal lambing season; (ii) negative emotions and memories associated with the Schmallenberg disease outbreak; and (iii) resilience and coping with the unexpected disease outbreak. These novel data present preliminary findings from a small number of sheep farmers, and indicate that for some farmers, an unexpected outbreak of a new and emerging disease for the first time during lambing, and dealing with high levels of dystocia, deformities and deaths in their animals, had a negative impact on their emotional well-being during the peak period of the sheep production cycle.