Emotion, Pain, & Sentience

Evaluating self-directed behaviours and their association with emotional arousal across two cognitive tasks in bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Self-directed behaviours (SDBs) are widely used as markers of emotional arousal in primates, and are commonly linked to negative arousal, or are used as indicators of stress or poor welfare. However, recent studies suggest that not all SDBs have the...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Laméris, D. W., Verspeek, J., Salas, M. et al. 2022. Evaluating self-directed behaviours and their association with emotional arousal across two cognitive tasks in bonobos (Pan paniscus). Animals 12(21), 3002.

Is it time for insect researchers to consider their subjects’ welfare?

Recent evidence suggests that at least some insect species might plausibly feel pain. These findings should prompt researchers to think about the welfare implications of insect experiments.

Year Published: 2023Topics: Analgesia, Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Insect & Spider, Invertebrate

Citation: Crump, A., Gibbons, M., Barrett, M. et al. 2023. Is it time for insect researchers to consider their subjects' welfare? PLOS Biology 21(6), e3002138.

Handling method affects measures of anxiety, but not chronic stress in mice

Studies in mice have shown that less aversive handling methods (e.g. tunnel or cup handling) can reduce behavioural measures of anxiety in comparison to picking mice up by their tail. Despite such evidence, tail handling continues to be used routinely....

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, HandlingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Novak, J., Jaric, I., Rosso, M. et al. 2022. Handling method affects measures of anxiety, but not chronic stress in mice. Scientific Reports 12(1), 20938.

Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: Investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states

Animal welfare assessment relies on valid and practical indicators of affect. In mice, the most widely used research vertebrates, lying still with eyes open, inactive-but-awake (IBA) in the home cage, has potential to be one such indicator. IBA is elevated...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: MacLellan, A., Nazal, B., Young et al. 2022. Waking inactivity as a welfare indicator in laboratory mice: Investigating postures, facial expressions and depression-like states. Royal Society Open Science 9(11), 221083.

Cat vocalization in aversive and pleasant situations

Vocalization may transmit information from the emitting animal, including information about his or her emotional state. This study aimed to compare the vocal and the behavioral responses of domestic cats during an aversive and a pleasant situation. A total of...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, VocalizationAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Schnaider, M. A., Heidemann, M. S., Silva, A. H. P. et al. 2022. Cat vocalization in aversive and pleasant situations. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 55-56, 71-78.

Bored at home?—A systematic review on the effect of environmental enrichment on the welfare of laboratory rats and mice

Boredom is an emotional state that occurs when an individual has nothing to do, is not interested in the surrounding, and feels dreary and in a monotony. While this condition is usually defined for humans, it may very well describe...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, HousingAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Mieske, P., Hobbiesiefken, U., Fischer-Tenhagen, C. et al. 2022. Bored at home?—A systematic review on the effect of environmental enrichment on the welfare of laboratory rats and mice. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 9, 899219.

Music modulates emotional responses in growing pigs

There is a lack of clarity on whether pigs can emotionally respond to musical stimulation and whether that response is related to music structure. Qualitative Behavioral Assessment (QBA) was used to evaluate effects of 16 distinct musical pieces (in terms...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Zapata Cardona, J., Ceballos, M. C., Tarazona Morales, A. M. et al. 2022. Music modulates emotional responses in growing pigs. Scientific Reports 12(1), 3382.

The use of a “go/go” cognitive bias task and response to a novel object to assess the effect of housing enrichment in sheep (Ovis aries)

It is widely acknowledged that environmental enrichment can improve animals' welfare and emotional state. This study used cognitive bias and response to a novel object to assess the effect of enriched housing on emotional state in sheep. Eighteen sheep were...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Environmental Enrichment, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Stephenson, E., Haskell, M. J. 2022. The use of a “go/go” cognitive bias task and response to a novel object to assess the effect of housing enrichment in sheep (Ovis aries). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 25(1), 62-74.

Frog in the well: A review of the scientific literature for evidence of amphibian sentience

Millions of amphibians are traded annually around the world for the exotic pet industry. Their experience during both trade, and in captivity as pets, leads to numerous animal welfare issues. The poor welfare of many pet amphibians is due in...

Year Published: 2022Topics: Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Amphibian, Frog & Toad, Salamander

Citation: Lambert, H., Elwin, A., D'Cruze, N. 2022. Frog in the well: A review of the scientific literature for evidence of amphibian sentience. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 247, 105559.

Dogs are more pessimistic if their owners use two or more aversive training methods

Domestic dogs are trained using a range of different methods, broadly categorised as reward based (positive reinforcement/negative punishment) and aversive based (positive punishment/negative reinforcement). Previous research has suggested associations between use of positive punishment-based techniques and undesired behaviours, but there...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Animal Training, Emotion, Pain, & SentienceAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Casey, R. A., Naj-Oleari, M., Campbell, S. et al. 2021. Dogs are more pessimistic if their owners use two or more aversive training methods. Scientific Reports 11(1), 19023.