Publications

Recommendations for ensuring good welfare of horses used for industrial blood, serum, or urine production

Various pharmaceutical products have been derived from horse blood and urine for over a century. Production of biologics and therapeutics from these samples is a niche industry and often occurs in regions with little regulation or veterinary oversight. To ensure...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Manteca Vilanova, X., Beaver, B., Uldahl, M. et al. 2021. Recommendations for ensuring good welfare of horses used for industrial blood, serum, or urine production. Animals 11(5), 1466.

Recommendations for abnormal behaviour ethograms in monkey research

Laboratory monkey ethograms currently include subcategories of abnormal behaviours that are based on superficial morphological similarity. Yet, such ethograms may be misclassifying behaviour, with potential welfare implications as different abnormal behaviours are likely to have distinct risk factors and treatments....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Abnormal/Problematic BehaviorAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Polanco, A., McCowan, B., Niel, L. et al. 2021. Recommendations for abnormal behaviour ethograms in monkey research. Animals 11(5), 1461.

Getting it straight: Accommodating rectilinear behavior in captive snakes—A review of recommendations and their evidence base

Snakes are sentient animals and should be subject to the accepted general welfare principles of other species. However, they are also the only vertebrates commonly housed in conditions that prevent them from adopting rectilinear behavior (ability to fully stretch out)....

Year Published: 2021Topics: HousingAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Warwick, C., Grant, R., Steedman, C. et al. 2021. Getting it straight: Accommodating rectilinear behavior in captive snakes—A review of recommendations and their evidence base. Animals 11(5), 1459.

Positive human contact and housing systems impact the responses of piglets to various stressors

This experiment studied the effects of lactation housing systems and human interaction on piglets' responses to routine stressors. Forty litters of piglets were reared in either a standard farrowing crate (FC) or a loose farrowing and lactation pen (LP; PigSAFE...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Housing, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Hayes, M. E., Hemsworth, L. M., Morrison, R. S. et al. 2021. Positive human contact and housing systems impact the responses of piglets to various stressors. Animals 11(6), 1619.

A case study on the behavioural effect of positive reinforcement training in a novel task participation test in Göttingen mini pigs

In laboratory animal research, many procedures will be stressful for the animals, as they are forced to participate. Training animals to cooperate using clicker training (CT) or luring (LU) may reduce stress levels, and thereby increase animal welfare. In zoo...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal TrainingAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Jønholt, L., Bundgaard, C. J., Carlsen, M. et al. 2021. A case study on the behavioural effect of positive reinforcement training in a novel task participation test in Göttingen mini pigs. Animals 11(6), 1610.

Multi-approach assessment for stress evaluation in rainbow trout females, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) from three different farms during the summer season

Blood biochemistry parameters are valuable tools for monitoring fish health. Their baseline values are still undefined for a multitude of farmed fish species. In this study, changes in the blood profile of rainbow trout females (Oncorhynchus mykiss) from three farms...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Trout

Citation: Uiuiu, P., Lațiu, C., Păpuc, T. et al. 2021. Multi-approach assessment for stress evaluation in rainbow trout females, Oncorhynchus mykiss (Walbaum, 1792) from three different farms during the summer season. Animals 11(6), 1810.

Basic needs in horses?—A literature review

Every animal species has particular environmental requirements that are essential for its welfare, and when these so-called “basic needs” are not fulfilled, the animals suffer. The basic needs of horses have been claimed to be social contact, social companionship, free...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Husbandry & Management, Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Krueger, K., Esch, L., Farmer, K. et al. 2021. Basic needs in horses?—A literature review. Animals 11(6), 1798.

Breeding and maintenance of immunodeficient mouse lines under SPF conditions—A call for individualized severity analyses and approval procedures

In the EU, the breeding of genetically modified laboratory animals is, by definition, an animal experiment if the offspring may experience pain, suffering, or harm. In order to determine the actual burden of genetically modified mice, established methods are available....

Year Published: 2021Topics: Regulations & Ethical ReviewAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Kammertoens, T., Jeuthe, S., Baranzke, H. et al. 2021. Breeding and maintenance of immunodeficient mouse lines under SPF conditions—A call for individualized severity analyses and approval procedures. Animals 11(6), 1789.

Behavioural diversity study in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) groups and its implications for welfare assessments

In the recent past, animal welfare studies have tried to determine the best animal welfare measures and indicators. Expression of behavioural diversity is considered a potential positive welfare indicator, and to the authors' knowledge, it has not been validated nor...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Delfour, F., Vaicekauskaite, R., García-Párraga, D. et al. 2021. Behavioural diversity study in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) groups and its implications for welfare assessments. Animals 11(6), 1715.

Behavioural diversity study in bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) groups and its implications for welfare assessments

Year Published: 2021Topics: Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Marine Mammal