Today, many farm animals are lacking human attention. One can ask, if animals need special attention at all and, if yes, what kind of attention. I think that via mental attention we can offer an experience to one animal which it could not have by being with other animals only. It experiences us as individual, free (not “only” instinctive) acting beings. This is not a conscious experience, and the animal can not really understand us. But it can sense our mental composure, it can feel, if our attention is loving: then it willingly and completely trusts in us. This makes the single animal more individual, we see it more as an individual, get to know its character and do not treat all animal alike. I think that the animal enjoys this: the results of this have nothing to do with inheritance or the species' characteristic features, it is probably even not indispensable to the animal's life. They rather are free conditions of species development. However, it remains questionable what our attention for one single animal means to the species or the group-soul of the animals. Maybe, via living together with the animals and via the soul realm which we cohabit together with the animals and their group-souls, we can offer the species the possibility to form something new, to somewhat ease the “constrictions”. (Concerning cattles, the new probably is the abandonment of ranking conflicts, which can often be observed as something which on the one hand is disturbing the process of digestion, but which on the other hand is a species' characteristic.) The process in one animal of becoming more individual and the species' openness for new things can only be achieved by a loving and species appropriate contact with the animal. Otherwise, the animal will immediately retreat to the species' characteristics, a basis on which it alone feels secure, and the species remains in its typical constrains.

Reference:
SPENGLER NEFF, A. (2002): Biologisch-dynamische Ansätze in der Rinderzucht. Lecture held on January 21, 2002, University of Kassel-Witzenhausen. Fulltext in Organic Eprints

Interviews were made on farms with 62 horned dairy cattle livestocks to collect concrete evidence on problems and suitable measures connected with the keeping of horned cows. Most farmers named the feeding area, the cubicles and the waiting area at the milking installation as problematic areas. The possibility to safely fix all cows in the feeding rack and an easy withdrawal from the feeding rack were regarded as essential. The cubicles should allow an exit to the front, which can be used by the cows when attacked from the back. A broad space offer in the waiting area and also in the whole stable was recommended. Concerning the management measures which help to improve the conditions in an existing stable, the farmers mainly described several methods to integrate new cows in the stock.

Reference:
SCHNEIDER, C.; IVEMEYER; S.; KLOCKE, P.; KNIERIM, U. (2009): Erfahrungen bei der Haltung horntragender Milchkühe im Laufstall – Probleme und Lösungsansätze in der Praxis. Beiträge 10. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau, Feb. 11-13, 2009, Zürich; Band 2, 22-23. Fulltext 

Positive contact calms beef cattle and reduces stress reactions
Extensive forms of livestock management (e.g. suckler cows) demand a lower work input, which is per se something positive for the people on the farm. However, it is often linked with the low work input that the human-animal contact is reduced. This can lead to stress reactions of the animals, especially when variations in the normal daily routine occur by an unusual closeness to humans, eg. when the herd is put to another pasture, during the trailer loading or at the slaughterhouse. The diminution of stress situations is important for the well-being of the animals and the security of the humans, and it can also improve meat quality.

In many studies, methods for improving the human-animal contact were described. A method especially for the situation in the run-up of the slaughtering was tested on 8 male beef cattle. The animals were about one year old and were randomly divided in groups of 4 treated and 4 untreated animals each. The treatment was partly based on Tellington Ttouches, partly on own experiences made by the scientists in contact with the cattle. The Tellington TTouch Every Aninal Method (TTEAM) and the Tellington-TTouch both were originally developed for horses by the well-known animal behaviour expert Dr. h.c. Linda Tellington-Jones in the middle of the sixties. The Tellington-TTouch comprises more than 30 special touches on the animal body, including rotary, stroking and lifting movements on the animals' skin. The treatments started 5 weeks before slaughtering date and were performed from the feeding table at the head, neck and between head and shoulder joint of the bulls in a defined way.

After 5 weeks, the treated animals displayed a shorter avoidance distance whereas the control group did not. Treated animals displayed fewer stress indicating behaviour, when entering the the stunning box. There were no behavioural differences during the trailer loading.

Blood samples were taken from the animals before the beginning of the experiment, 1 day before slaughtering and during the exsanguination. The contents of cortisol, lactate and glucose were clearly increased in the slaughtering blood of all animals, compared to the measurements before. The control animals displayed higher lactate and glucose contents in the slaughtering blood than the treated animals. Quality tests showed that the cooking losses were higher with meat from the control group. The other meat parameters did not differ between treatments.

Further studies should be conducted to verify the efficiency of this method and to test its introduction in practice. Apart from that, it makes sense to improve the human-animal contact of an suckler cow herd not only in the run-up of the slaughtering. The contact should rather be established earlier in the animals' life to reduce the stress for the animals and the caring person. This will be conducted in a new project with two suckler cow herds, in due consideration of the animals' first days of life.

References:
PROBST, J.; SPENGLER NEFF, A.; LEIBER, F.; HILLMANN, E. (2009): Zuwendende Behandlung beruhigt Mastrinder. Lebendige Erde, Heft 4/2009, 44-47 Fulltext
 
SPENGLER NEFF, A.; PROBST, J.; HILLMANN, E.; LEIBER, F. (2009): Einfluss eines positiven Handlings von Mastbullen auf die Stressaktivität der Tiere und auf die Fleischqualität. Beiträge 10. Wissenschaftstagung Ökologischer Landbau, 11.-13. Feb. 2009, Zürich, Band 2; 28-29 Fulltext