Measuring Animal Welfare Performance in Cattle Farms with the PROMETHEE Method

Abstract

Animal welfare has become an increasingly important concept in modern livestock farms, both from an ethical and production perspective. This study aimed to evaluate animal welfare performance in cattle farms using the PROMETHEE II method, a multi-criteria decision-making method. Five key criteria were identified: animal space, nutrition, housing, health, and behavioral observations, and seven different cattle farms were analyzed based on these criteria. Criteria weights were calculated, and farms were ranked according to their net flux values. The findings revealed significant differences in animal welfare levels across farms. Furthermore, it was concluded that the PROMETHEE II method offers an effective and systematic approach for assessing the multidimensional and complex issue of animal welfare.

Keywords

• Animal welfare
• cattle farms
• PROMETHEE II
• multi-criteria decision making
• agricultural management

Sığır İşletmelerinde Hayvan Refahı Performansının PROMETHEE Yöntemi ile Ölçülmesi

Abstract

Hayvan refahı, modern hayvancılık işletmelerinde hem etik hem de üretimsel açıdan giderek daha fazla önem kazanan bir kavram haline gelmiştir. Bu çalışmada, sığır işletmelerinde hayvan refahı performansının çok kriterli karar verme yöntemlerinden biri olan PROMETHEE II yöntemi ile değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Çalışma kapsamında hayvan başına düşe alan, beslenme, barınma, sağlık ve davranışsal gözlem gibi beş temel kriter belirlenmiş ve bu kriterler doğrultusunda yedi farklı sığır işletmesi analiz edilmiştir. Kriter ağırlıkları hesaplanmış ve işletmeler net akı değerlerine göre sıralanmıştır. Elde edilen bulgular, hayvan refahı düzeyinin işletmeden işletmeye anlamlı farklılıklar gösterdiğini ortaya koymuştur. Ayrıca, PROMETHEE II yönteminin hayvan refahı gibi çok boyutlu ve karmaşık bir konunun değerlendirilmesinde etkili ve sistematik bir yaklaşım sunduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır.

Keywords

• PROMETHEE II
• Hayvan refahı
• sığır işletmeleri
• çok kriterli karar verme
• tarım işletmeciliği

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