Small Ruminant Welfare, Production and Sustainability

Small ruminant production, particularly that of sheep and goats, has steadily increased over the years, with goat production alone doubling during the past three decades. Increased public attention to the impact of livestock management methods on animal well-being warrants rigorous research and dissemination of findings to address this issue. Small Ruminant Welfare, Production, and Sustainability focuses on advances in assessing and improving small ruminant well-being and the implications for the sheep and goat sectors worldwide. A variety of assessment systems for small-ruminant wellbeing are considered, including behavior, health, physiology, immunology, productivity, product quality, neural networks, thermal imaging, facial recognition, and artificial intelligence. Current methods and novel management practices are examined as they relate to both animal welfare and improvement of production systems.

Small Ruminant Welfare, Production, and Sustainability is a welcome addition to the current body of work the current body of work on small ruminant management systems and welfare. Researchers in the fields of animal science, agricultural science, neuroscience, ethics and veterinary medicine, as well as stakeholders in the small ruminant industry and policymakers will benefit from this multidisciplinary resource.

• Summarizes small ruminant well-being assessment methods• Includes multi-omics, artificial intelligence, and modeling
• Identifies advances in small ruminant production methods
• Provides practices to improve welfare, and increase productivity and product quality
• Explores small ruminants as alternatives for meat production

Dr. Govind Kannan, received his professional degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1986 and his MVSc in 1988 from from Madras Veterinary College, India. He then earned his PhD at the University of Maryland, College Park in 1996 before working at University of California at Davis as a post-doctoral researcher. He joined Fort Valley State University in 1997. Dr. Kannan has published 70 peer-reviewed research articles and book chapters, in addition to more than 120 abstracts and numerous proceedings. Currently, he serves as the Vice President for Economic Development and Land-Grant Affairs at FVSU. Dr. Kannan has been an advocate of applied research and outreach programs empowering small and underrepresented farmers with the knowledge and skills needed to sustain successful enterprises. He was recognized at the White House in 2012 as a “Champion of Change” for his efforts in strengthening global food security. He was also appointed by the US Secretary of Agriculture to serve two consecutive terms on the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics (NAREEE) Advisory Board. Dr. Kannan continues to supervise graduate student research projects and is actively involved in professional societies. He currently serves on the Editorial Boards for Animals and Frontiers in Animal Science.