Animal welfare and farming systems synergistically influence beef cattle health: Evidence from Northern Thailand

Vet World Vol.18 October-2025 Article - 7

Research Article

Veterinary World, 18(10): 3002-3016

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2025.3002-3016

Nattamaporn Kongmuang¹

, Payungsuk Intawicha¹

, Choke Sorachakula¹

, Somchart Tana¹

, Wilasinee Inyawilert²

, Amornrat Wanangkarn²

, and Sureeporn Saengwong¹

1. Division of Animal Science, School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Phayao, Phayao, 56000, Thailand.

2. Department of Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture Natural Resources and Environment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok, 65000, Thailand.

Background and Aim: Beef cattle production in Thailand is vital for food security and rural livelihoods, yet differences in farming systems raise concerns about animal welfare and health. This study aimed to evaluate the interactive effects of animal welfare and farming systems on cattle health outcomes, providing insights for sustainable smallholder production.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 60 farms in Phayao Province, categorized as extensive, semi-intensive, or intensive. Animal welfare was assessed using an adapted Welfare Quality protocol with 41 indicators across five domains. Health outcomes were obtained from farm records and direct observations. Statistical analyses included Kruskal–Wallis tests, Dunn’s post hoc tests, Spearman’s rank correlation, and permutational multivariate analysis of variance with principal coordinate analysis.

Results: Welfare scores differed significantly across systems, with intensive farms achieving the highest scores and extensive farms the lowest (p < 0.001). High-welfare farms showed reduced mortality, diarrhea, respiratory distress, bloating, parasitic infestation, and injuries compared with low-welfare farms (p < 0.05). Body condition score was strongly associated with welfare level (ρ = 0.68, p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed significant effects of welfare level (R2 = 0.1787, p < 0.001), farming system (R2 = 0.1382, p = 0.0003), and their interaction (R2 = 0.2151, p = 0.0004) on cattle health. Semi-intensive farms with moderate welfare levels showed the most consistent and stable health outcomes.

Conclusion: Animal welfare and farming systems interact to shape cattle health outcomes in Northern Thailand. Moderate welfare levels in semi-intensive systems offered balanced and consistent improvements, highlighting a scalable model for smallholders. The findings emphasize the need for context-specific welfare interventions, policy integration, and capacity-building initiatives to enhance both cattle health and farm sustainability.

Keywords: animal welfare, beef cattle, farming systems, health outcomes, PERMANOVA, Thailand.

How to cite this article: Kongmuang N, Intawicha P, Sorachakula C, Tana S, Inyawilert W, Wanangkarn A, and Saengwong S (2025). Animal welfare and farming systems synergistically influence beef cattle health: Evidence from Northern Thailand, Veterinary World, 18(10): 3002-3016.

Received: 06-06-2025 Accepted: 04-09-2025 Published online: 14-10-2025

Corresponding author: Sureeporn Saengwong E-mail: sureeporn.sa@up.ac.th

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2025.3002-3016

Copyright: Kongmuang, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.