Publications

Report of the Enrichment; Awareness and Uptake Workshop 2018 on 26th June at College Court, Leicester

The point of the session was to have a collaborative discussion about environmental enrichment. The organisers wanted to know people's experiences with enrichment, the barriers they have faced, if they have overcome any, and also to share some of their...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, ReproductionAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: King, J. 2018. Report of the Enrichment; Awareness and Uptake Workshop 2018 on 26th June at College Court, Leicester. Animal Technology and Wefare 17(3), 163-167. [Meeting Report]

A pig’s tale, “travelling in style”

This paper describes the design and construction – by Animal Care Technicians – of a cage-style crate to transport experimental pigs between buildings that minimizes harm and distress.

Year Published: 2019Topics: Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Duckett, L., Phelon, L., Wheeler, L. 2018. A pig's tale, “travelling in style”. Animal Technology and Welfare 17(3), 189-192 (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation).

Enrichment centered on human interaction moderates fear-induced aggression and increases positive expectancy in fearful shelter dogs

Some otherwise non-aggressive dogs may display fear-induced aggression under stressful conditions. Admittance to an animal shelter is a stressful experience for dogs, and aggression is often used as a criterion by shelters for precluding opportunities for adoption. We, therefore, examined...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Willen, R. M., Schiml, P. A., Hennessy, M. B. Enrichment centered on human interaction moderates fear-induced aggression and increases positive expectancy in fearful shelter dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 217, 57-62.

Effects of flooring surface and a supplemental heat source on location preference, behaviour and growth rates of dairy goat kids

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of different flooring surfaces and a supplemental heat source (heat lamps) on location preference, behaviour and growth rate of dairy goat kids. Eighty female Saanen kids were enrolled in the...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Goat

Citation: Sutherland, M. A., Lowe, G. L., Cox, N. R. et al. 2019. Effects of flooring surface and a supplemental heat source on location preference, behaviour and growth rates of dairy goat kids. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 217, 36-42.

Why are enriched mice nice? Investigating how environmental enrichment reduces agonism in female C57BL/6, DBA/2, and BALB/c mice

Compared to female mice raised in large, environmentally enriched (EE) cages, those from “shoebox” non-enriched (NE) cages demonstrate more stereotypic behaviour (SB) and depressive-like effects (i.e. learned helplessness; and inactive-but-awake behaviour [IBA], where a mouse simply stands still). Past research...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Nip, E., Adcock, A., Nazal, B. et al. 2019. Why are enriched mice nice? Investigating how environmental enrichment reduces agonism in female C57BL/6, DBA/2, and BALB/c mice. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 217, 73-82.

Conceptual and methodological issues relating to pain assessment in mammals: The development and utilisation of pain facial expression scales

Effective management of pain is critical to the improvement of animal welfare. For this to happen, pain must be recognised and assessed in a variety of contexts. Pain is a complex phenomenon, making reliable, valid, and feasible measurement challenging. The...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: McLennan, K. M., Miller, A. L., Dalla Costa, E. et al. 2019. Conceptual and methodological issues relating to pain assessment in mammals: The development and utilisation of pain facial expression scales. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 217, 1-15.

Effects of different levels of environmental enrichment on the sheltering behaviors, brain development and cortisol levels of black rockfish Sebastes schlegelii

Environmental enrichment is a promising way to increase the fitness and survival of fish released for stock enhancement and biological conservation programs. However, the effects of enrichment in different studies on the fish behavior, physiology and neural development were considerably...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Zhang, Z., Zhang, X., Li, Z. et al. 2019. Effects of different levels of environmental enrichment on the sheltering behaviors, brain development and cortisol levels of black rockfish Sebastes schlegelii. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 218, 104825.

Animal personality in the management and welfare of pigs

Personality is defined as individual behavioral differences that are consistent over time and across contexts and is constructed from a number of underlying traits. Over the last 27 years, studies on pig personality have investigated links between personality traits and...

Year Published: 2019Topics: PersonalityAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: O'Malley, C. I., Turner, S. P., D'Eath, R. B. et al. 2019. Animal personality in the management and welfare of pigs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 218, 104821.

Social environment as a cause of litter loss in laboratory mouse: A behavioural study

Perinatal mortality is a widespread problem in laboratory mouse breeding and is often manifested by the loss of the entire litter within the first days of life. High mortality is an animal health and welfare concern that violates the 3R...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Rearing & Weaning, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Brajon, S., Morello, G. M., Teixeira, M. S. et al. 2019. Social environment as a cause of litter loss in laboratory mouse: A behavioural study. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 218, 104827.

A review of the effects of non-straw enrichment on tail biting in pigs

Tail biting remains a common problem in pig production. As producers are reluctant to use straw to reduce this behaviour, we review studies on the effectiveness of other types of enrichment. Roughage, hessian sacks, compost, fresh wood, space dividers, rope,...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Buijs, S., Muns, R. 2019. A review of the effects of non-straw enrichment on tail biting in pigs. Animals 9(10), 824.