bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Physiological response of rabbits to heat, cold, noise and mixing in the context of transport
Authors: De la Fuente J , Díaz MT , Ibáñez M , de Chavarri E González 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe effects on rabbits of four potential transport-related stressors (heat [HS], cold [CS], noise [NS] and mixing with unfamiliar animals [MS]) on certain physiological and meat quality parameters were studied. These are factors which may act to reduce the welfare of rabbits during their transport to the slaughterhouse. The rabbits were exposed to each potential stressor for four and a half hours prior to slaughter. HS groups showed the highest plasma concentrations of cortisol, lactate and glucose and greater packed cell volume (PCV) and osmolarity than the control group, and the meat exhibited a low initial pH as a direct consequence of lactic acid accumulation. The rabbits exposed to cold (CS) and noise (NS) showed physiological responses to the potential stressor, although to a lesser degree than rabbits exposed to heat. Cold stressed rabbits showed increased levels of creatine kinase (CK) and a higher PCV as well as decreased muscle glycogen concentration compared to the control. Rabbits exposed to noise showed muscular damage as demonstrated by increased levels of CK and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in the blood and a high final pH in meat. Mixing unfamiliar rabbits (MS) lead to higher CK activity, lower lactate and glucose concentration and the meat pH was slightly higher than the control group. In conclusion, these results suggested that rabbits exposed to heat were the most affected out of all three groups, although cold, noise and mixing with unfamiliar rabbits also had a detrimental effect on physiological and meat quality parameters.
Effect of beak length on feed intake in pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica)
Authors: Savas T , Konyali C , Das G , Yurtman IY 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis study was undertaken to investigate the effect of beak length on feed intake with regard to animal welfare. The study involved two treatments groups; short beak pigeons (G-SB; n = 7) and normal beak pigeons (G-NB; n = 7) and was carried out in two consecutive trials. Daily feed consumption, meal length and behavioural traits such as aggressive pecking, preening, resting and locomotor activity were recorded under different feeding conditions. In Trial I the birds had free access to food material during a single feeding period each day, whereas in Trial II feeding was terminated when a pigeon from any of the groups that stopped eating first, moved towards water. It took a longer time for the pigeons in the G-SB group to consume the same amount of feed. Furthermore, the pigeons in G-SB were affected significantly in Trial II and lost bodyweight more compared to G-NB. Although no significant difference between the groups on frequency of aggressive pecking during feeding was found in Trial I, restricted feeding significantly increased the frequency of aggressive pecking in the G-SB group in Trial II. The results of the present study suggest that short beak, which is a side-effect of artificial selection for aesthetic purposes, can cause serious welfare problems under restricted environmental conditions.
Sickness behaviour and its relevance to animal welfare assessment at the group level
Authors: Millman ST 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe inflammatory response evokes changes in behaviour including increased thermoregulatory activities and sleep, reduced social exploration and appetite, and altered food preferences. This sickness response also includes feelings of lethargy, depression, and pain, collectively referred to as ‘malaise’. Recent experiments involving laboratory rodents reveal information about proximate mechanisms of sickness behaviour, but scant information exists about how sickness behaviour is expressed by farmed species or within social environments. The behavioural needs of ill individuals differ from those of conspecifics, and failure to accommodate the needs of ill individuals may exacerbate suffering. Policy makers, industry and animal welfare certification programs recommend hospital pens to address the housing and handling needs of ill livestock and to reduce risks of disease transmission. However, a survey of swine farms in Ontario, Canada revealed deficiencies in the use of hospital pens and gaps in knowledge about best management practices for this vulnerable population. There is considerable scope to improve the welfare and husbandry of ill and at risk animals through effective use of hospital pens and supportive therapies.
Assessing the animals' relationship to humans in tied dairy cows: between-experimenter repeatability of measuring avoidance reactions
Authors: Waiblinger S , Mülleder C , Schmied C , Dembele I 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTests for assessing the animal-human relationship in tied dairy cows have been used in experimental research, but the reliability and feasibility of the measures in the on-farm context has not been studied yet. Therefore we investigated the between-experimenter repeatability of avoidance reactions in dairy cows housed in tie-stall systems. Nine farms in Austria with 15-60 tethered dairy cows were visited. Two to three out of four experimenters were testing the avoidance reaction of the individual cows in a balanced order. Cows were approached slowly from the front and the reactions recorded on an 11-point score. The avoidance reaction of each cow was assessed twice by each experimenter and averaged. Also, a farm value per experimenter was calculated (median). Repeatability between experimenters was assessed within farms and at farm level by calculating Spearman rank correlation coefficients. The average between-experimenter correlations within farms ranged from 0.37 to 0.88. At farm level, median of scores ranged from 2.5 to 6.75 and correlated moderately to highly between experimenters from 0.65 to 0.80. Testing the animals on all farms was relatively simple.The between-experimenter repeatability within farms differed substantially and reasons for this merit further investigation. At farm level repeatability was moderate to sufficiently high. Due to the high feasibility, this measure seems to be promising and should be developed further.
Potential animal-centred indicators of dairy goat welfare
Authors: Mazurek M , Marie M , Desor D 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThis paper presents five tests based on behavioural and other animal-centred observations concerning dairy goat welfare. An emotional reactivity test (n = 40) classified the animals into different groups according to their behaviour in response to fear-eliciting stimuli, and identified anxious animals. Movement parameters and behaviour, as well as quantitative (number of cries) and qualitative (pitch, intensity, length) sound parameters were recorded. A dominance test (n = 35) based on antagonistic reactions resulted in three hierarchical groups (subordinate, n = 9; intermediate, n = 6; and dominant, n = 20). A test performed in the milking parlour (n = 108) showed that the order of passage was strongly preserved and linked to limb pathology and dominance index. Finally, a lameness test (12.5% were lame) and a standing up test (8.5% had problems getting up) showed that these two parameters were highly correlated. After some simplifications, these tests could form a goat welfare evaluation method.
Measuring fearfulness of hens in commercial organic egg production
Authors: Hegelund L , Sørensen JT 
Published: January 2023

AbstractTo evaluate agreement between flock-based fear tests used in welfare assessments of laying hens in commercial organic farms, three tests were applied in 27 flocks of layers. Tests were performed at 35 and 55 weeks of age and were based on the concepts of ‘novel object’, ‘sudden sound’ and two different measures of ‘approaching human’. In general, agreements between tests were poor. The two measures based on ‘approaching human’ had the highest agreement, while the agreement between all other flock-based tests were lower. There was low agreement between testing at age 35 and 55 weeks.In order to evaluate the degree to which the flock-based fear tests reflect individual hens' underlying fearfulness; tonic immobility (TI) tests were also applied on individual hens in eight flocks. There was large individual variation in the duration of tonic immobility, but also significant difference between flocks regarding mean duration of immobilisation. However there was no statistically significant association between TI-tests and flock-based tests. These results emphasise the need for careful consideration of choice of test stimuli for flock-based fear tests, and indicate that the investigated flock-based fear tests do not reflect the individual hens' underlying fearfulness.
Welfare assessment on Japanese dairy farms using the Animal Needs Index
Authors: Seo T , Date K , Daigo T , Kashiwamura F , Sato S 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe Animal Needs Index (ANI) is used for on-farm assessment of welfare in Austria. However, no synthetic welfare assessment system exists in Japan. We performed a welfare assessment of Japanese dairy farms using the ANI scoring system. On 25 farms, 36 dairy herds were assessed using the ANI35L/2000-cattle survey. On 10 dairy farms, 16 herds were housed in free-stall barns. The other 20 herds of 15 dairy farms were housed in tie-stall barns. This study was conducted between December 2004 and January 2005. The ANI scores ranged from 6.0 to 40.0 points (mean 17.8 points). The four high ranking herds on ANI value were housed in free-stalls and allowed the use of outside areas. The 13 low ranking herds were housed in tie-stalls and were not allowed the use of outside areas. The free-stall herds had significantly higher ANI scores than tie-stall herds. The ANI scores of herds having access to outside areas were significantly higher than those of herds having no outside access. This scoring system might be useful for Japanese dairy farms. However, some assessment parameters contain subjective criteria such as cleanliness, floor slipperiness, and animal health. Further studies are necessary to improve the scoring system, in particular clarifying criteria related to those parameters.
Leveraging expertise in animal welfare to create educational equity
Authors: Siegford JM , Zanella AJ , Bernardo T , Heleski CR , Wickens CL , Laughlin K , Malinowski R 
Published: January 2023

AbstractGlobally, veterinarians and professionals in animal-related industries are faced with growing public concern for the welfare of animals, particularly those in production. To prepare professionals, courses in animal welfare should be created to provide consistent education on a global scale in an efficient and cost-effective manner. However, a creative approach to welfare education is needed to reduce the disparity between supply and demand for instruction in animal welfare. Michigan State University (MSU) is piloting a graduate-level, online interactive course in animal welfare assessment to provide students with high-quality science-based education from renowned international animal welfare experts at numerous institutions. Innovative use of technology enables students to interact with material, each other and instructors. Students actively apply their accumulated skills to hypothetical scenarios, enhancing learning effectiveness. Student performance and opinion were examined to determine whether the course meets the stated objectives. Twenty-three students from four institutions enrolled in the pilot course. In the first month, the majority of students found the online course easy to use and material appropriate for a graduate-level course. The students agreed that scenarios helped them integrate lecture material. The MSU course will serve as a model for collaboration in content assembly and course delivery, using technology to leverage global expertise to create educational equity.
Rank correlated use of soft flooring by dairy cattle
Authors: Platz S , Ahrens F , Bendel J , Meyer H , Erhard MH 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe present study covers rank correlated use of soft flooring during partial replacement (45% of the total floor space) of concrete slatted floor by rubber covering. For this purpose, the rank position of 19 cows within a 50 Brown Swiss dairy cattle herd was evaluated by calculating the individual dominance index. A clear rank affiliation could be found for 16 cows (eight cows with a rank index 0.67 – 1.0 (ie high ranking) and eight cows with a rank index 0.0 – 0.25 (ie low ranking). Using focal sampling, the 16 cows were observed with time-lapse video recording before and after floor replacement (8.5 hours per day for 10 days with each floor kind). After replacing 45% of the concrete floor surface with soft flooring in a test area far from the milking parlour, high ranking cows used this area significantly longer ie 105.5 ± 36.2 min more than before compared with lower ranking herd members, who did so 17.6 ± 24.6 min less. Before replacement, low ranking cows spent significantly more time on the concrete slatted floor of the test area (147.6 ± 13.2 min) than high ranking cows (80.9 ± 17.3 min). The results of the observation demonstrate that the extent of use of soft rubber flooring correlates to rank-order and illustrates the importance of barn designs in terms of meeting their specific needs in spite of an existing rank order.
Quality of life and the evolution of the brain
Authors: Kendrick KM 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe dual problem of explaining brain evolution and the way in which it has led to wide species differences in behaviour and physiology has often appeared intractable to scientists. The main limiting factor is that we do not understand enough about how brains work to appreciate why gross or fine morphological differences can lead to the considerable across- as well as within-species differences in behaviour. Even at a molecular level, while two-thirds of our genes are involved in regulating brain function, there is a high degree of homology within different phyla. In the context of quality of life (QoL), arguably the most important consideration is that the brain you have evolved is adapted to the environment you are living in and is capable of generating ‘conscious’ experience. When that environment is radically altered, issues arise regarding whether there is sufficient adaptability to cope and the extent to which mental as well as physical suffering might be experienced as a consequence. At the other end of the spectrum there is the question of how enriched social and physical environments might enhance QoL through promoting positive affect. Here I will discuss potential functional contributions of differences in brain size and organisation and the impact of experience. I will mainly focus on mental functioning and show particularly that capacities for consciousness, emotional experience, social interaction and cognition and behavioural flexibility are likely to be widespread in other animal species, even if less developed than in humans.
How animals communicate quality of life: the qualitative assessment of behaviour
Authors: Wemelsfelder F 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThe notion ‘quality of life’ (QoL) suggests that welfare in animals encompasses more than just an absence of suffering; it concerns the quality of an animal's entire relationship with its environment, of how it lives its life. Judgements of such quality are based on the integration of perceived details of how animals behave over time in different contexts. The scientific status of such judgements has long been ambiguous, but in recent decades has begun to be addressed by animal scientists. This paper starts with a brief review of qualitative approaches to the study of animal behaviour, which tend to address characteristics such as individuality, personality, and emotionality. The question then arises whether such characteristics involve a subjective, experiential aspect, and identify animals as sentient beings. The second half of this paper argues that taking the integrative nature of qualitative judgements seriously enables a ‘whole animal’ perspective, through which it becomes possible to view behaviour as a dynamic, expressive body language that provides a basis for assessing the quality of an animal's experience (eg contented, anxious). Judging this quality is a skill that requires knowledge of species-specific behaviour, experience in observing and interacting with animals in different contexts, and a willingness to communicate with animals as sentient beings. A substantial body of research indicates that this skill can function reliably in a scientific context, and can be applied usefully as a practical welfare assessment tool. Thus qualitative approaches to the study of animal behaviour should make an important contribution to the growing interest in animal QoL.
Tools to measure and improve animal welfare: reward-related behaviour
Authors: Van der Harst JE , Spruijt BM 
Published: January 2023

AbstractThere is an increasing requirement for tools to assess and improve animal welfare in an objective and scientifically based manner. In our research a concept of welfare is applied which states that welfare is determined by the balance between positive and negative experiences. This concept implies that an interaction exists between stress systems and reward systems in the brain and, as a consequence: (I) negative experiences induce an increased sensitivity (ie need) for positive experiences; and (II) negative experiences can be compensated for by positive experiences. On this basis, two uses of reward-related behaviour can be hypothesised: (I) reward sensitivity may be used as a tool to assess the state of an animal in terms of welfare because it can indicate the current state of the balance that is dependent on previous (stressful) experiences; and (II) regular presentation of rewards may serve as a tool to counteract stress by shifting the balance to the positive side and, thus, to improve welfare. In order to investigate this, we used the rat as a model. Reward sensitivity was determined by the spontaneous behavioural response shown during expectation of a reward (ie anticipatory behaviour). A third (III) use of reward-related behaviour derives from the fact that anticipatory behaviour is influenced by the (rewarding) properties of the forthcoming reward (or other event) and, thus, may serve as a tool to assess the animal's perception of this reward/event. This paper presents a descriptive overview of the evidence obtained thus far for the three proposed uses of reward-related behaviour. The biological background of our concept of welfare can be generalised to all (vertebrate) species, and anticipatory behaviour can be evoked in a wide range of other species. Therefore, this tool for measuring and improving the welfare of captive animals has great potential and will contribute to a good quality of life for captive animals.
Enhancing quality of life for dogs and cats in confined situations
Authors: Timmins RP , Cliff KD , Day CT , Hart BL , Hart LA , Hubrecht RC , Hurley KF , Phillips CJC , Rand JS , Rochlitz I , Serpell JA , Zawistowski SL 
Published: January 2023

AbstractAn international panel of experts in the fields of canine and feline health, welfare and behaviour conducted an online discussion addressing two questions: (1) how can one define quality of life (QoL) for dogs and cats in confined living situations, such as laboratories; and (2) what additional research is needed to determine how optimal QoL can be achieved? The panel suggested that QoL encompasses animal welfare and the subjective ‘feelings’ of the animal regarding its life, and that it can only be inferred from behavioural, physiological and other measures. Two methods for measuring QoL were proposed: establishing an ethogram defining QoL for individuals; and developing a ‘quality of living’ scale that can be applied to facilities housing groups of dogs and cats. Constructing these measures requires a comprehensive research program, and the paper discusses overall research objectives, specific questions that must be addressed, and some proposed research methods.
Laboratory animal, pet animal, farm animal, wild animal: which gets the best deal?
Authors: Wolfensohn S , Honess P 
Published: January 2023

AbstractA veterinary surgeon wishing to practice in the UK promises, on admission to the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, that their “constant endeavour will be to ensure the welfare of the animals committed to [their] care” (RCVS 2006 Guide to Professional Conduct). Yet a constant dilemma is that the veterinary surgeon deals with the animal's welfare differently depending on the category into which the particular animal fits at a particular time — even though its ability to suffer is the same whatever the circumstance. A laboratory animal is considered by many to suffer the most insults to welfare, yet its welfare is protected by a plethora of regulations, ethical reviews, best-practice guidelines and vociferous public opinion. While any decision on its treatment will take into account the scientific outcome, the judgement will have been considered by many and the outcome already decided. The companion animal may be much loved by its owner but its veterinary treatment will be affected by the psychological state of that owner and his/her ability to pay; the animal's treatment becomes a ‘family management’ issue. In veterinary treatment of a farm animal, the benchmark for ‘acceptable’ suffering can be quite different; lower levels of welfare may be tolerated over considerable periods. When a wild animal is presented for treatment, the welfare of the individual may not be best served by anything other than euthanasia, yet treatment is often enthusiastically attempted. We explore this inconsistency of approach to animal welfare, using examples, and we attempt to rationalise and raise awareness of the inconsistencies. We propose the use of a welfare illustrator grid to increase cross-sector objectivity and improve harmonisation of approach across the sectors.
Breeding for quality of life
Authors: McGreevy PD 
Published: January 2023

AbstractMany breeds of companion animal have inherited disorders that may impair quality of life (QoL) to the extent that it is unkind to keep them alive. If we struggle to discern when this point is reached, why do we breed compromised, short-lived animals in the first place? If we struggle to judge when environmental conditions cause an unacceptable QoL, why not breed appropriately for modern environments? In breeding pedigree dogs, five major problems arise: (1) some breed standards and selection practices run counter to dog welfare; (2) insufficient selection pressure seems to be exerted on some traits that would improve animal well-being and produce dogs better suited to modern environments; (3) the incidence of certain inherited defects in some breeds is unacceptably high; (4) the dearth of registered animals of certain breeds in particular countries makes it extremely difficult for breeders to avoid mating close relatives; and (5) there may be financial disincentives for veterinarians to reduce the incidence of inherited diseases. Before we can judge when behavioural or morphological changes caused by selective breeding result in an unacceptable QoL, we have to know which are prevalent. This paper reviews progress in two Australian schemes to monitor trends in the prevalence of inherited disorders in dogs and to promote behavioural phenotypes likely to cope with contemporary domestic environments.