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Animal welfare, agency, and animal–computer interaction (2025)

Recent discussions in animal welfare have emphasised the importance of animal agency—the ability of animals to make choices and exert control over their environment in a way that aligns with their needs and preferences. In this paper, we discuss the...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Browning, H., Veit, W. 2025. Animal welfare, agency, and animal–computer interaction. Animals 15(2), 219.

“Killing in the name of 3R?” The ethics of death in animal research

Changing relationships with nonhuman animals have led to important modifications in animal welfare legislations, including the protection of animal life. However, animal research regulations are largely based on welfarist assumptions, neglecting the idea that death can constitute a harm to...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Euthanasia, Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Persson, K., Rodriguez Perez, C., Louis-Maerten, E. et al. 2024. “Killing in the name of 3R?” The ethics of death in animal research. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 38(1), 4.

A bibliometric analysis of studies on environmental enrichment spanning 1967–2024: Patterns and trends over the years

Environmental Enrichment (EE) has received considerable attention for its potential to enhance cognitive and neurobiological outcomes in animal models. This bibliometric analysis offers a comprehensive evaluation of the EE research spanning from 1967 to 2024, utilizing data extracted from Scopus...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Singhal, G., Baune, B. T. 2024. A bibliometric analysis of studies on environmental enrichment spanning 1967–2024: Patterns and trends over the years. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 18.

A new approach (CSA-Score) to assessing the cumulative overall stress load in the case of animal experiments and even beyond

In laboratory animal science, severity assessment has been mandatory by European law since 2013. Various severity assessments have been created for many single manipulations. However, when multiple harmful interventions or stressors occur simultaneously or repeatedly, the cumulative overall severity is...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Pig, Rodent

Citation: Helmig, S., Wenzel, S. 2024. A new approach (CSA-Score) to assessing the cumulative overall stress load in the case of animal experiments and even beyond. Discover Animals 1(1), 38.

A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare

The concept of animal welfare is evolving due to progress in our scientific understanding of animal biology and changing societal expectations. Animal welfare science has been primarily concerned with minimizing suffering, but there is growing interest in also promoting positive...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rault, J.-L., Bateson, M., Boissy, A. et al. 2025. A consensus on the definition of positive animal welfare. Biology Letters 21(1), 20240382.

The voice of choice: A scoping review of choice-based animal welfare studies

“Choice and control” is a phrase used widely in animal welfare science to describe providing captive animals with the ability to select between possible outcomes (stimuli or events). This concept has gained traction as a pivotal management technique across a...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rust, K., Clegg, I., Fernandez, E. J. 2024. The voice of choice: A scoping review of choice-based animal welfare studies. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 275, 106270.

An enclosure quality ranking framework for terrestrial animals in captivity

There is a burgeoning interest in measuring and improving animal welfare in captive settings. Recent work has emphasized how enclosure design elements directly impact animal welfare (e.g., from health, behavioral, and reproductive standpoints). Yet, there is no published systematic way...

Year Published: 2024Topics: HousingAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Flanagan, A. M., Masuda, B., Grabar, K. et al. 2024. An enclosure quality ranking framework for terrestrial animals in captivity. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 278, 106378.

Utilizing vocalizations to gain insight into the affective states of non-human mammals

This review discusses how welfare scientists can examine vocalizations to gain insight into the affective states of individual animals. In recent years, researchers working in professionally managed settings have recognized the value of monitoring the types, rates, and acoustic structures...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, VocalizationAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Whitham, J. C., Miller, L. J. 2024. Utilizing vocalizations to gain insight into the affective states of non-human mammals. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

Laboratory animal welfare meets human welfare: A cross-sectional study of professional quality of life, including compassion fatigue in laboratory animal personnel

Laboratory animal personnel may experience significant stress from working with animals in scientific research. Workplace stress can be assessed by evaluating professional quality of life, which is comprised of compassion fatigue (i.e., burnout and secondary traumatic stress) and compassion satisfaction....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Euthanasia, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., Riley, M. C., Cloutier, S. et al. 2020. Laboratory animal welfare meets human welfare: A cross-sectional study of professional quality of life, including compassion fatigue in laboratory animal personnel. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 114.

What N Is N-ough for MRI-based animal neuroimaging? eNeuro 11(3), ENEURO

Fueled by the recent and controversial brain-wide association studies in humans, the animal neuroimaging community has also begun questioning whether using larger sample sizes is necessary for ethical and effective scientific progress. In this opinion piece, we illustrate two opposing...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Imaging & Electrophysiological RecordingAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Grandjean, J., Lake, E. M. R., Pagani, M. et al. 2024. What N Is N-ough for MRI-based animal neuroimaging? eNeuro 11(3), ENEURO.0531-23.2024.