Welfare Assessment

A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents

Ensuring that laboratory rodent pain is well managed underpins the ethical acceptability of working with these animals in research. Appropriate treatment of pain in laboratory rodents requires accurate assessments of the presence or absence of pain to the extent possible....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Turner, P. V., Pang, D. S., Lofgren, J. L. 2019. A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents. Comparative Medicine 69(6), 451–467.

A review of strain and sex differences in response to pain and analgesia in mice

Pain and its alleviation are currently a highly studied issue in human health. Research on pain and response to analgesia has evolved to include the effects of genetics, heritability, and sex as important components in both humans and animals. The...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Analgesia, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Smith J. C. 2019. A review of strain and sex differences in response to pain and analgesia in mice. Comparative Medicine 69(6), 490–500.

A review of welfare indicators of indoor-housed dairy cow as a basis for integrated automatic welfare assessment systems

For on-farm welfare assessment many automatic methods have been developed to detect indicators of reduced welfare. However, there is still a need to integrate data from single sources to obtain a complete picture of the welfare of an animal. This...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Leliveld, L. M. C., Provolo, G. 2020. A review of welfare indicators of indoor-housed dairy cow as a basis for integrated automatic welfare assessment systems. Animals 10(8), 1430.

Spatial distribution and activity patterns as welfare indicators in response to water quality changes in European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax

In aquaculture, fish are exposed to unavoidable stressors that can be detrimental for their health and welfare. However, welfare in farmed fish can be difficult to assess, and, so far, no standardized test has been universally accepted as a welfare...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Alfonso, S., Sadoul, B., Cousin, X. et al. 2020. Spatial distribution and activity patterns as welfare indicators in response to water quality changes in European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 226, 104974.

The Right Angle: Validating a standardised protocol for the use of infra-red thermography of eye temperature as a welfare indicator

Infra-red thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive tool for measuring eye temperature as an indicator of stress and welfare in animals. Previous studies state that images are taken from 90° but do not specify a reference point or method of standardisation....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Ijichi, C., Evans, L., Woods, H. et al. 2020. The Right Angle: Validating a standardised protocol for the use of infra-red thermography of eye temperature as a welfare indicator. Animal Welfare 29(2), 123-131.

A safe bet? Inter-laboratory variability in behaviour-based severity assessment

Evidence-based severity assessment is essential as a basis for ethical evaluation in animal experimentation to ensure animal welfare, legal compliance and scientific quality. To fulfil these tasks scientists, animal care and veterinary personnel need assessment tools that provide species-relevant measurements...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Jirkof, P., Abdelrahman, A., Bleich, A. et al. 2020. A safe bet? Inter-laboratory variability in behaviour-based severity assessment. Laboratory Animals 54(1), 73–82.

Use of the horse grimace scale to identify and quantify pain due to dental disorders in horses

Dental disorders can cause discomfort and chronic pain, affecting the athletic performance and welfare of the horses. However, dental disorders may not be manifested with recognizable clinical signs and may, therefore, lead to late diagnosis or care. The present study...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Marcantonio Coneglian, M., Duarte Borges, T., Henrique Weber, S. et al. 2020. Use of the horse grimace scale to identify and quantify pain due to dental disorders in horses. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 225, 104970.

Utility of automated feeding data to detect social instability in a captive breeding colony of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): A case study of intrafamily aggression

Some captive breeding colonies of rhesus macaques live in large outdoor multimale, multifemale social groups. These groups are composed of several matrilineal families, governed by a clear female dominance hierarchy. Aggression within the same or between different matrilineal families due...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Johnston, J. R., Meeker, T. L., Ramsey, J. K. et al. 2020. Utility of automated feeding data to detect social instability in a captive breeding colony of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta): A case study of intrafamily aggression. JAALAS 59(1), 46–57.

Objective assessment of acute pain in foals using a facial expression-based pain scale

Pain assessment is very important for monitoring welfare and quality of life in horses. To date, no studies have described pain scales for objective assessment of pain in foals. Studies in other species have shown that facial expression can be...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van Loon, J., Verhaar, N., van den Berg, E. et al. 2020. Objective assessment of acute pain in foals using a facial expression-based pain scale. Animals 10(9), 1610.

Monitoring acute pain in donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP)

Objective pain assessment in donkeys is of vital importance for improving welfare in a species that is considered stoic. This study presents the construction and testing of two pain scales, the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Composite Pain Assessment...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: van Dierendonck, M., Burden, F., Rickards, K. et al. 2020. Monitoring acute pain in donkeys with the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkeys Composite Pain Assessment (EQUUS-DONKEY-COMPASS) and the Equine Utrecht University Scale for Donkey Facial Assessment of Pain (EQUUS-DONKEY-FAP). Animals 10(2), 354.