Welfare Assessment

Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses

Facial expressions in prey animals such as equines can convey information regarding their internal state and are therefore often used as cues for welfare and pain evaluation. The state of pain is commonly compared to a neutral state with little...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Lundblad, J., Rhodin, M., Hernlund, E. et al. 2025. Facial expressions during compound interventions of nociception, conspecific isolation, and sedation in horses. Scientific Reports 15(1), 5373.

Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens (2025)

There is increasing focus on how to induce and measure positive affective states in animals and the development of social license to operate has brought this to the forefront within equestrianism. This study aimed to utilise a range of methods...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Personality, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Loftus, L., Newman, A., Leach, M. et al. 2025. Exploring the induction and measurement of positive affective state in equines through a personality-centred lens. Scientific Reports 15(1), 18550.

Heart rate monitoring during behavioral stress tests in bold and shy rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Monitoring stress in captive fish is crucial for their welfare, but continuous physiological measures in unrestrained animals are challenging. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) exhibit divergent personalities, ranging from bold to shy, which correlate with cortisol-mediated stress responses. To determine whether...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Trout

Citation: Kasiouras, E., Riberolles, G., Gräns, A. et al. 2025. Heart rate monitoring during behavioral stress tests in bold and shy rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Fishes 10(1), 23.

Successive negative contrast: An appropriate approach to measure affective state in dogs? (2025)

Successive negative contrast (SNC) is a decrease in response when animals unexpectedly face reward devaluation to levels below those of animals always receiving low-value rewards. SNC appears to be influenced by background affective states and has thus been proposed as...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Castro, A. C. V. de, Baria-Unwalla, P., Cabrita, A. R. et al. 2025. Successive negative contrast: An appropriate approach to measure affective state in dogs? Animal Welfare 34, e34.

Using a length-weight relationship based on wild lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L

The use of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L.) as cleaner fish in Atlantic salmon aquaculture has emerged as a promising solution to combat the issue of sea lice infestation, as they have proven effective under the right conditions. The aquaculture industry,...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Østerø, S. L., Toro, J. D., Homrum, E. í et al. 2024. Using a length-weight relationship based on wild lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus L.) for estimation of body condition of lumpfish in salmon cages. PLOS ONE 19(11), e0310924.

Hands-on refinements: Establishing improved husbandry processes for aged C57BL/6 mice

The main aim of this project was to review the husbandry processes in place for the colony of aged C57BL/6 mice at the Babraham Institute, establish a refined husbandry process and improve local guidance. Secondly, by analysing fate and clinical...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Paterson, A. 2024. Hands-on refinements: Establishing improved husbandry processes for aged C57BL/6 mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(2), 129–131.

What we (don’t) know about parrot welfare: Finding welfare indicators through a systematic literature review

Parrots are popular companion animals but show prevalent and at times severe welfare issues. Nonetheless, there are no scientific tools available to assess parrot welfare. The aim of this systematic review was to identify valid and feasible outcome measures that...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Parrot

Citation: Piseddu, A., Zeeland, Y. R. van, Rault, J.-L. 2024. What we (don't) know about parrot welfare: Finding welfare indicators through a systematic literature review. Animal Welfare 33, e57.

A new approach (CSA-Score) to assessing the cumulative overall stress load in the case of animal experiments and even beyond

In laboratory animal science, severity assessment has been mandatory by European law since 2013. Various severity assessments have been created for many single manipulations. However, when multiple harmful interventions or stressors occur simultaneously or repeatedly, the cumulative overall severity is...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General, Mouse, Pig, Rodent

Citation: Helmig, S., Wenzel, S. 2024. A new approach (CSA-Score) to assessing the cumulative overall stress load in the case of animal experiments and even beyond. Discover Animals 1(1), 38.

Do we still need a canary in the coal mine for laboratory animal facilities? A systematic review of environmental health monitoring versus soiled bedding sentinels

Introduction Despite increasing evidence that Environmental Health Monitoring (EHM) is an effective method to perform rodent colony health surveillance, promotes the 3Rs as a Replacement, is comparable or reduces cost, and demonstrates labor benefits, many research institutions continue to use...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: LaFollette, M. R., Clement, C. S., Luchins, K. R. et al. 2024. Do we still need a canary in the coal mine for laboratory animal facilities? A systematic review of environmental health monitoring versus soiled bedding sentinels. PLOS ONE 19(12), e0311840.

Automated landmark-based cat facial analysis and its applications

Facial landmarks, widely studied in human affective computing, are beginning to gain interest in the animal domain. Specifically, landmark-based geometric morphometric methods have been used to objectively assess facial expressions in cats, focusing on pain recognition and the impact of...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Martvel, G., Lazebnik, T., Feighelstein, M. et al. 2024. Automated landmark-based cat facial analysis and its applications. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.