Influence of music on the welfare of dairy cattle: towards the establishment of an experimental protocol

Abstract

Contemporary concerns have been brought into the light of scientific research, emerging simultaneously with the intensifi-cation of animal production ushered by the industrialization of agriculture over the past five decades. This gave birth to the burgeoning science that is animal welfare. First and foremost, this thesis briefly reviews what the term welfare signifies and precisely entails, replacing it to its rightful place: a scientific concept, legitimately embedded in the heart of biological science, notably through its rela-tionship to the notion of stress. By under-standing its multidimensional nature, which renders its assessment so complex, we can better comprehend the disagreements it carries inside the scientific community. Keeping all these concepts and views in mind, supplying us with a brand new precious toolbox, the review turns to the exploration of the literature on music, its various effects on animals and its possible incidences on stress and welfare. This thesis work is highlighting some substantial points, inter alia linked to the inherent nature of the stimuli that is music itself, that have been problematic when trying to draw definitive conclusions on the existence of beneficial effects of music on the welfare of animals. It is raising the curtain on important issues with a desire to clear the field for a future experimental program and to lay the first stones of a protocol that humbly wishes itself to satisfy both of the welfarists' and musicologists' concerns and demands.