Human-Animal Interaction

When touch is stressful: Acute endocrine and behavioral responses of domestic rabbits to unfamiliar human handling

Background Rabbits are increasingly kept as companion animals, yet little is known about their stress responses during interactions with unfamiliar humans—situations commonly encountered during household visits or animal-assisted interventions. This study evaluated whether tactile interaction with an unfamiliar person induced...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Součková, M., Frühauf Kolářová, M., Přibylová, L. et al. 2026. When touch is stressful: Acute endocrine and behavioral responses of domestic rabbits to unfamiliar human handling. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 13.

Effect of noise on bornean orangutans’ glucocorticoid metabolite (GCM) levels

Zoos are increasingly hosting out-of-hours events such as ‘Music Nights’ to increase visitation, raising potential animal welfare concerns due to anthropogenic noise pollution. This study examined the physiological stress response, measured through faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGCM), of Bornean orangutans (Pongo...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Queiroz, M. B. de, Passos, L. F., Azevedo, C. S. de et al. 2025. Effect of noise on bornean orangutans’ glucocorticoid metabolite (GCM) levels. Animals 15(23).

The influence of environmental conditions and husbandry practices on goat welfare

Goat (Capra hircus) welfare is an important issue in any farming system. The aim of the study was a comprehensive analysis of the impact of environmental factors and farming practices on the welfare of goats, with particular attention to physical,...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Body Modification/Mutilation, Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal Interaction, Husbandry & Management, Rearing & Weaning, Social Housing & Companionship, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Goat

Citation: Pilarczyk, R., Bąkowska, M., Tomza-Marciniak, A. et al. 2026. The influence of environmental conditions and husbandry practices on goat welfare. Animals 16(5).

Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) husbandry and their welfare

A key diagnostic tool in breeding practice is systematic observation: by identifying abnormalities in natural behaviour, it can highlight early signs of reduced welfare or physical and mental health issues in livestock and other animals. The aim of this paper...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Animal Training, Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal Interaction, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Other Animal

Citation: Pilarczyk, R., Bąkowska, M., Pilarczyk, B. et al. 2025. Alpaca (Vicugna pacos) husbandry and their welfare. Animals 15(21).

The successful introduction of an early rabbit to human habituation programme to reduce stress and aggressive behaviour

Rabbits as a species, are naturally overly sensitive to stress which is a source of concern and consideration for the use in research settings; both in terms of their interaction with humans, and in terms of the quality of the...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Mikkelsen, L. F., Rudolph, T., Ganivet, I. et al. 2025. The successful introduction of an early rabbit to human habituation programme to reduce stress and aggressive behaviour. Scandinavian Journal of Laboratory Animal Science 51, 33–37.

Human emotional odours influence horses’ behaviour and physiology

Olfaction is the most widespread sensory modality animals use to communicate, yet much remains to be discovered about its role. While most studies focused on intraspecific interactions and reproduction, new evidence suggests chemosignals may influence interspecific interactions and emotional communication....

Year Published: 2026Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Jardat, P., Destrez, A., Damon, F. et al. 2026. Human emotional odours influence horses’ behaviour and physiology. PLOS ONE 21(1), e0337948.

Participation in a short-term socialization and training program improved kennel-raised dog welfare

Kennel-raised dogs are exposed to more stressors and fewer positive experiences than dogs raised in homes. We created a Dog Socialization and Training class to enrich the environment of university teaching dogs. Undergraduate students (103 total) were assigned a dog...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Animal Training, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Ing, N. H., Richardson, R., Lamon, T. K. et al. 2026. Participation in a short-term socialization and training program improved kennel-raised dog welfare. Animals 16(3).

Social referencing in the domestic horse

Dogs and cats use human emotional information directed to an unfamiliar situation to guide their behavior, known as social referencing. It is not clear whether other domestic species show similar socio-cognitive abilities in interacting with humans. We investigated whether horses...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Schrimpf, A., Single, M., Nawroth, C. 2020. Social referencing in the domestic horse. Animals 10(1), 164.

The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication

Domestic animals are sensitive to human cues that facilitate inter-specific communication, including cues to emotional state. The eyes are important in signalling emotions, with the act of narrowing the eyes appearing to be associated with positive emotional communication in a...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Humphrey, T., Proops, L., Forman, J. et al. 2020. The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication. Scientific Reports 10(1), 16503.

Inside the interaction: Contact with familiar humans modulates heart rate variability in horses

A human–animal relationship can be developed through subsequent interactions, affected by the positive or negative emotional valence of the proceeding one. Horses implement a process of categorization to classify humans with whom they interact as positive, negative, or neutral stimuli...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Scopa, C., Greco, A., Contalbrigo, L. et al. 2020. Inside the interaction: Contact with familiar humans modulates heart rate variability in horses. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 582759.