Publications

Is harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) exhaled breath sampling suitable for hormonal assessments?

Over the last decades, exhaled breath sampling has been established for laboratory analysis in various cetacean species. Due to their small size, the usability of respiratory vapor for hormone assessments was questionable in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena). This pilot study...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Reckendorf, A., Schmicke, M., Bunskoek, P. et al. 2021. Is harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) exhaled breath sampling suitable for hormonal assessments? Animals 11(3), 907.

Socialization in commercial breeding kennels: The use of novel stimuli to measure social and non-social fear in dogs

Understanding the behavioral welfare of dogs in commercial breeding kennels (CBKs) is important for improving breeders' management practices as well as dog welfare. In the current study, breeding dogs from CBKs were exposed to novel stimuli to evaluate their behavioral...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Pritchett, M., Barnard, S., Croney, C. 2021. Socialization in commercial breeding kennels: The use of novel stimuli to measure social and non-social fear in dogs. Animals 11(3), 890.

Activity time budgets—A potential tool to monitor equine welfare?

Horses' behavior can provide valuable insight into their subjective state and is thus a good indicator of welfare. However, its complexity requires objective, quantifiable, and unambiguous evidence-based assessment criteria. As healthy, stress-free horses exhibit a highly repetitive daily routine, temporal...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Auer, U., Kelemen, Z., Engl, V. et al. 2021. Activity time budgets—A potential tool to monitor equine welfare? Animals 11(3), 850.

Housing, husbandry and welfare of a “classic” fish model, the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis)

Thanks to its small size, external fertilization and fecundity, over the past four decades, zebrafish (Danio rerio) has become the dominant fish model species in biological and biomedical research. Multiple lines of evidence, however, suggest that the reliance on only...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Rácz, A., Adorján, G., Fodor, E. et al. 2021. Housing, husbandry and welfare of a “classic” fish model, the paradise fish (Macropodus opercularis). Animals 11(3), 786.

Reviewing the review: A pilot study of the ethical review process of animal research in Sweden

The use of animals in research entails a range of societal and ethical issues, and there is widespread consensus that animals are to be kept safe from unnecessary suffering. Therefore, harm done to animals in the name of research has...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Jörgensen, S., Lindsjö, J., Weber, E. M. et al. 2021. Reviewing the review: A pilot study of the ethical review process of animal research in Sweden. Animals 11(3), 708.

Enrichment for laboratory zebrafish—A review of the evidence and the challenges

Good practice for the housing and care of laboratory zebrafish Danio rerio is an increasingly discussed topic, with focus on appropriate water quality parameters, stocking densities, feeding regimes, anaesthesia and analgesia practices, methods of humane killing, and more. One area...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Stevens, C. H., Reed, B. T., Hawkins, P. 2021. Enrichment for laboratory zebrafish—A review of the evidence and the challenges. Animals 11(3), 698.

Legal frameworks and controls for the protection of research animals: A focus on the animal welfare body with a French case study

In recent years, efforts have been devoted to improving the welfare of laboratory animals. Scientific progress and growing concerns over animal harm have pushed institutions to strengthen their laws to make science more humane and responsible. European Directive 2010/63/EU makes...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Codecasa, E., Pageat, P., Marcet-Rius, M. et al. 2021. Legal frameworks and controls for the protection of research animals: A focus on the animal welfare body with a French case study. Animals 11(3), 695.

Methods used and application of the mouse grimace scale in biomedical research 10 years on: A scoping review

The Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS) was developed 10 years ago as a method for assessing pain through the characterisation of changes in five facial features or action units. The strength of the technique is that it is proposed to be...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Whittaker, A. L., Liu, Y., Barker, T. H. 2021. Methods used and application of the mouse grimace scale in biomedical research 10 years on: A scoping review. Animals 11(3), 673.

The lack of light-dark and feeding-fasting cycles alters temporal events in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) stress axis

Vertebrates possess circadian clocks, driven by transcriptional–translational loops of clock genes, to orchestrate anticipatory physiological adaptations to cyclic environmental changes. This work aims to investigate how the absence of a light-dark cycle and a feeding schedule impacts the oscillators in...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Saiz, N., Gómez-Boronat, M., De Pedro, N. et al. 2021. The lack of light-dark and feeding-fasting cycles alters temporal events in the goldfish (Carassius auratus) stress axis. Animals 11(3), 669.

Identification of individual zebrafish (Danio rerio): A refined protocol for VIE tagging whilst considering animal welfare and the principles of the 3Rs

In aquatic ecology, studies have commonly employed a tagging technique known as visible implant elastomer (VIE). This method has not been widely adopted by the zebrafish research community and also lacks refinement with regard to animal welfare. The current paper...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Identification MethodAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Rácz, A., Allan, B., Dwyer, T. et al. 2021. Identification of individual zebrafish (Danio rerio): A refined protocol for VIE tagging whilst considering animal welfare and the principles of the 3Rs. Animals 11(3), 616.