All/General

The psychobiology of social pain: Evidence for a neurocognitive overlap with physical pain and welfare implications for social animals with special attention to the domestic dog (Canis familiaris)

Social pain is the negative affect signaling threat or harm to social relationships. Loneliness is perceived social isolation and can be found across phylogeny. Evidence from diverse fields demonstrates an overlap of social and physical pain. Social pain can elicit...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: All/General, Dog

Citation: McMillan, F. D. 2016. The psychobiology of social pain: Evidence for a neurocognitive overlap with physical pain and welfare implications for social animals with special attention to the domestic dog (Canis familiaris). Physiology & Behavior 167, 154-171.

Effects of water bottle materials and filtration on bisphenol A content in laboratory animal drinking water

Bisphenol A (BPA) is widely used in the polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins that are found in laboratory animal husbandry materials including cages and water bottles. Concerns about BPA exposure in humans has led to investigations that suggest physiologic health...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Honeycutt, J. A., Nguyen, J. Q. T., Kentner, A. C. et al. 2017. Effects of water bottle materials and filtration on bisphenol A content in laboratory animal drinking water. JAALAS 56(3), 269-272.

Operational details of the five domains model and its key applications to the assessment and management of animal welfare

In accord with contemporary animal welfare science understanding, the Five Domains Model has a significant focus on subjective experiences, known as affects, which collectively contribute to an animal's overall welfare state. Operationally, the focus of the Model is on the...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Mellor, D. Operational details of the five domains model and its key applications to the assessment and management of animal welfare. Animals 7(8), 60.

Research tools for the measurement of pain and nociception

There are many ways in which pain in animals can be measured and these are based on a variety of phenomena that are related to either the perception of pain or alterations in physical or behavioural features of the animal...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Johnson, C. 2016. Research tools for the measurement of pain and nociception. Animals 6(11), 71.

Moving beyond the “Five Freedoms” by updating the “Five Provisions” and introducing aligned “Animal Welfare Aims”

Although the Five Freedoms paradigm has been very influential in shaping animal welfare thinking for the last two decades, it has two key disadvantages. First, the focus on “freedom” from a range of negative experiences and states has been misunderstood...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Mellor, D. 2016. Moving beyond the “Five Freedoms” by updating the “Five Provisions” and introducing aligned “Animal Welfare Aims”. Animals 6(10), 59.

Stressed out: providing laboratory animals with behavioral control to reduce the physiological effects of stress

Laboratory animals experience a large amount of environmental stress. An animal's environment can include both physiological and social stressors that may require an animal to adapt to maintain allostatic balance. For example, thermal stress can lead to changes in behavior,...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Gaskill, B. N., Garner, J. P. 2017. Stressed out: providing laboratory animals with behavioral control to reduce the physiological effects of stress. Lab Animal 46(4), 142-145.

The enrichment club

Regulatory requirements provide instructions on enrichment specifically for nonhuman primates, but we believe all animals can benefit from enrichment if it is structured for that species. Hired as the Director of Behavior Management and Environmental Enrichment at the Icahn School...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Johnson, C. H., Carter, K. 2016. The enrichment club. Lab Animal 45(9), 341.

Unbridle biomedical research from the laboratory cage

Many biomedical research studies use captive animals to model human health and disease. However, a surprising number of studies show that the biological systems of animals living in standard laboratory housing are abnormal. To make animal studies more relevant to...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Housing, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Lahvis, G. 2017. Unbridle biomedical research from the laboratory cage. eLife 6, e27438.

Managing aged animals in zoos to promote positive welfare: A review and future directions

Improvements in veterinary care, nutrition, and husbandry of animals living in zoos have led to an increase in the longevity of these animals over the past 30 years. In this same time period, the focus of animal welfare science has...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Krebs, B., Marrin, D., Phelps, A. et al. 2018. Managing aged animals in zoos to promote positive welfare: A review and future directions. Animals 8(7), 116.

Naturalness and animal welfare

Naturalness is considered important for animals, and is one criterion for assessing how we care for them. However, it is a vague and ambiguous term, which needs definition and assessments suitable for scientific and ethical questions. This paper makes a...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Yeates, J. 2018. Naturalness and animal welfare. Animals 8(4), 53.