Human-Animal Interaction

An exploratory interview study of researchers’ and technicians’ perceptions of rat tickling

This paper highlights the main themes which emerged from a study carried out with Animal Technicians and researchers to better understand: - perceptions of rat tickling - potential drivers and barriers to the uptake of tickling in a laboratory environment

Year Published: 2023Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Beechener, S., Brown, S., Bombail, V. et al. 2023. An exploratory interview study of researchers' and technicians' perceptions of rat tickling. Animal Technology and Welfare 22(3), 201–209.

Feline faces: Unraveling the social function of domestic cat facial signals

Lately, there has been a growing interest in studying domestic cat facial signals, but most of this research has centered on signals produced during human-cat interactions or pain. The available research on intraspecific facial signaling with domesticated cats has largely...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Natural BehaviorAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Scott, L., Florkiewicz, B. N. 2023. Feline faces: Unraveling the social function of domestic cat facial signals. Behavioural Processes 213, 104959.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) distinguish between two human caretakers and their associated roles within a captive environment

Zebrafish have become a popular biomedical model in recent decades, and are now maintained in laboratories worldwide. However, living within a captive environment can introduce novel environmental stressors and experiencing stress chronically can negatively affect animal welfare and, if applicable,...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Miller, S. L., Leri, F., Pushinsky, A. et al. 2023. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) distinguish between two human caretakers and their associated roles within a captive environment. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 267, 106053.

Weaned piglet’s reactivity to humans, tonic immobility and behaviour in a spatial maze test is affected by gestating sows’ relationship to humans and positive handling at weaning

Fear of human can impact negatively offspring's behaviour and cognition whereas early positive handling has positive impacts. The aim of this study was to evaluate the crossed effects of trans-generational transfer and familiarisation with human on piglets' behaviour. Sows were...

Year Published: 2023Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Lanthony, M., Briard, E., Špinka, M. et al. 2023. Weaned piglet's reactivity to humans, tonic immobility and behaviour in a spatial maze test is affected by gestating sows' relationship to humans and positive handling at weaning. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 268, 106080.

The links between positive human interaction and maternal behaviour and welfare of commercial breeding dams (Canis familiaris)

In dogs, maternal behaviour plays an essential role in offspring survival and can influence the development and behaviour of the neonate later in life. We investigated the effect of prepartum enrichment on maternal behaviour and welfare of breeding dams at...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Rearing & WeaningAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Baqueiro-Espinosa, U., Donnelly, P., McEvoy, V. et al. 2024. The links between positive human interaction and maternal behaviour and welfare of commercial breeding dams (Canis familiaris). Applied Animal Behaviour Science 270, 106147.

Human perception of cats’ communicative cues: Human‐cat communication goes multimodal

As a central key to apprehend the human-cat relationship, the question of how humans decode the behaviours expressed by their feline companions has drawn scientists' attention in the past decades. To this point, previous studies have not investigated humans' understanding...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: de Mouzon, C., Di-Stasi, R., Leboucher, G. 2024. Human perception of cats' communicative cues: Human‐cat communication goes multimodal. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 270, 106137.

Behavioral responses of captive corvids to the presence of visitors

Behavioral responses of captive animals to the presence of visitors in zoos and wildlife parks can be interpreted as signs of negative (disturbance), neutral or positive (enrichment) welfare. In the present study, we investigated behavioral responses of captive common ravens,...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Bird, Other Bird

Citation: Wascher, C. A. F., Baur, N., Hengl, M. et al. 2021. Behavioral responses of captive corvids to the presence of visitors. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8(4), 481–492.

Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus)

A central question in the interspecific human/animal relationship is how domestic animals perceive humans as a significant element of their environment. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the use of positive or negative reinforcement in horse training may...

Year Published: 2010Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Sankey, C., Richard-Yris, M.-A., Henry, S. et al. 2010. Reinforcement as a mediator of the perception of humans by horses (Equus caballus). Animal Cognition 13(5), 753–764.

The welfare of domestic goats (Capra hircus) in a zoo-based animal-visitor interaction program

We investigated whether the welfare of domestic goats in an animal-visitor interaction experience at a zoo was affected by the presence and behavior of visitors. We considered how the number of visitors in the goats' habitat and visitor proximity to...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Handling, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Goat

Citation: Ramont, M., Leahy, M., Cronin, K. A. 2021. The welfare of domestic goats (Capra hircus) in a zoo-based animal-visitor interaction program. Animal Behavior and Cognition 8(4), 493–506.

Examining dog–human play: The characteristics, affect, and vocalizations of a unique interspecific interaction

Despite the growing interest in research on the interaction between humans and dogs, only a very few research projects focus on the routines between dogs and their owners. In this study, we investigated one such routine: dog–human play. Dyadic interspecific...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Horowitz, A., Hecht, J. 2016. Examining dog–human play: The characteristics, affect, and vocalizations of a unique interspecific interaction. Animal Cognition 19(4), 779–788.