Animal Health & Welfare

Due to the reduction in the farm workforce, the need to handle beef cattle efficiently and safely, whilst not sacrificing welfare, is of increasing importance. This can be achieved by encouraging cattle to move calmly through handling systems by reducing their fearfulness.

Cattle which are less fearful of handling tend to be easier to move, leading to improvements in the efficiency of labour use, a reduction in the chances of accidental injury to cattle or handlers and a reduction in the tendency of handlers to use punishment as a means of forcing animals to move.

Research has shown that beef cattle which are less fearful of handling also grow more rapidly and have less bruising on the carcass.

Properly designed handling facilities and correctly motivated staff are therefore essential to maximise animal welfare, human safety and efficient labour use.

Benefits of improved handling facilities

• Animal safety
• Human safety
• Efficiency and profitability

To explore these benefits in more detail, use the tabs in the menu to the left.

Making use of cattle behaviour to aid movement
As the ease of handling depends largely on how well the behaviour of the animal is exploited, the starting point when designing handling facilities should be understanding what features encourage calm and injury-free movement. The use of designs which fight against, rather than exploit, cattle behavioural tendencies, will result in persistent handling difficulties.

For information on basic design principles to encourage movement, click on the 'Basic Design Principles' tab in the left hand menu.

Current design of Scottish handling facilities
For the results of a survey examining the design of handling facilities currently in use in Scotland, click on the 'Scottish Handling Facilites' tab to the left.

Design recommendations
Click on the 'Design Recommendations' tab in the menu to the left to view information on general design recommendations common to all components of a handling system. You may also view specific recommendations for the design of each component of a permanent or mobile handling system. These items contain information for the modification of existing handling systems and suggestions for the design of new layouts.  Further details of these recommendations can be found in two technical notes and a more detailed report (see the links to the right).  SAC's buildings design specialists can help to design handling systems tailored to specific requirements.  Please contact your local advisory office.