Publications

The efficacy of novel rope flavours as environmental enrichment for stalled gilts

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of flavoured ropes as environmental enrichment for individually housed pigs (Sus scrofa). A 4 × 4 Latin square experimental design was utilised to evaluate the effects of four rope flavour...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Colpoys, J. D., Johnson, A. K., Gabler, N. K. 2018. The efficacy of novel rope flavours as environmental enrichment for stalled gilts. Animal Welfare 27(4), 351-356.

Is boredom an animal welfare concern?

Boredom, while often casually attributed to non-human animals by both laypeople and scientists, has received little empirical study in this context. It is sometimes dismissed by others as anthropomorphic or a trivial concern in comparison to other welfare problems faced...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Meagher, R. K. 2019. Is boredom an animal welfare concern? Animal Welfare 28(1), 21-32.

Can biomarkers of biological age be used to assess cumulative lifetime experience?

Objective methods for assessing the cumulative lifetime experience of non-human animals would be valuable. We develop the hypothesis that biological age is a common currency that integrates the overall quality of an animal's lifetime experience across a range of types...

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

Citation: Bateson, M., Poirier, C. 2019. Can biomarkers of biological age be used to assess cumulative lifetime experience? Animal Welfare 28(1), 41-56.

The characterisation of underwater noise at facilities holding marine mammals

A collaborative effort was undertaken to delineate underwater noise levels within holding enclosures at marine mammal facilities. Ambient noise levels were measured under normal operating conditions in the enclosures of 14 participating facilities. Facility habitats varied from ocean environments to...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Houser, D. S., Mulsow, J., Branstetter, B. et al. 2019. The characterisation of underwater noise at facilities holding marine mammals. Animal Welfare 28(2), 143-155.

Do social factors related to allostatic load affect stereotypy susceptibility? Management implications for captive social animals

Stereotypies are frequently associated with sub-optimal captive environments and are used as welfare indicators. However, susceptibility to stereotypy can vary across individuals of the same group. As such, identifying which individuals are more susceptible to this behaviour may be helpful...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Natural Behavior, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Capuchin, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Nagy-Reis, M. B., Mendonça-Furtado, O., Resende, B. 2019. Do social factors related to allostatic load affect stereotypy susceptibility? Management implications for captive social animals. Animal Welfare 28(2), 183-190.

Preference for heights of feeding troughs in mares: A pilot study

Preferences for the height of feeding troughs of seven mares were evaluated and, as awareness of surroundings when feeding is adaptive for horses, the relationship between preference responses and attention behaviours was also assessed. First, feeding troughs at four heights...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Luz, M. P. F., Maia, C. M., Arruda, L. A. S. et al. 2019. Preference for heights of feeding troughs in mares: A pilot study. Animal Welfare 28(2), 205-214.

In-tank underwater cameras can refine monitoring of laboratory fish

Laboratory animals need to be monitored to check the status of their health and welfare. Routine checks of laboratory fish are limited to visual observations of physical appearance and behaviour, but for species held in opaque-walled tanks, such checks are...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Ellis, T., Rimmer, G. S. E., Parker, S.-J. et al. 2019. In-tank underwater cameras can refine monitoring of laboratory fish. Animal Welfare 28(2), 191-203.

An evaluation of two different broiler catching methods

Catching is the first step in the pre-slaughter chain for broiler chickens. The process may be detrimental for animal welfare due to the associated handling. The aim of this pilot study was to compare two different methods to manually catch...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Euthanasia, HandlingAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Kittelsen, K. E., Granquist, E. G., Aunsmo, A. L. et al. 2018. An evaluation of two different broiler catching methods. Animals 8(8), 141.

Associations between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms, empathy towards animals and implicit associations towards animals

Oxytocin has been well researched in association with psychological variables and is widely accepted as a key modulator of human social behaviour. Previous work indicates involvement of oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in human-human empathy, however little...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Connor, M., Lawrence, A. B., Brown, S. M. 2018. Associations between oxytocin receptor gene polymorphisms, empathy towards animals and implicit associations towards animals. Animals 8(8), 140.

Is heightened-shoaling a good candidate for positive emotional behavior in zebrafish?

Zebrafish, a highly-social species of freshwater fish, are widely studied across many fields of laboratory science including developmental biology, neuroscience, and genomics. Nevertheless, as standard housing for zebrafish typically consists of small and simplistic environments, less is known about their...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Franks, B., Graham, C., Von Keyserlingk, M. A. G. 2018. Is heightened-shoaling a good candidate for positive emotional behavior in zebrafish? Animals 8(9), 152.