Welfare Assessment

Deep learning for face detection and pain assessment in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata)

Facial expressions have increasingly been used to assess emotional states in mammals. The recognition of pain in research animals is essential for their well-being and leads to more reliable research outcomes. Automating this process could contribute to early pain diagnosis...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Gris, V. N., Crespo, T. R., Kaneko, A. et al. 2024. Deep learning for face detection and pain assessment in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). JAALAS 63(4), 403–411.

Welfare assessment in pigs using the salivary proteome

Identifying the potential presence of stress at the pig farm is fundamental since it affects pig welfare. As a result, a reliable and straightforward tool to monitor stress could record the welfare status of the animals. Although numerous methods to...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Prims, S., Van Ginneken, C., Van Ostade, X. et al. 2024. Welfare assessment in pigs using the salivary proteome. Animals 14(11), 1703.

Will the white blood cells tell? A potential novel tool to assess broiler chicken welfare

This study assessed qualitative and quantitative leukocyte evaluation as potential broiler chicken welfare indicators, contributing to the limited literature on white blood cell (WBC) morphology as a diagnostic tool for welfare. Broiler chicken welfare within four poultry houses (PH) 1...

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

Citation: Ribeiro, L. R. R., Sans, E. C. de O., Santos, R. M. et al. 2024. Will the white blood cells tell? A potential novel tool to assess broiler chicken welfare. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

Assessment of quality of life and wellbeing in mouse preclinical research – A scoping review

Mouse preclinical research is of great scientific interest to understand the mechanisms of human diseases and test potential therapeutic interventions. Researchers characterize biological and physiological traits, behaviors and disease symptoms using standardized phenotypic protocols in the context of in vivo...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Sanz-Moreno, A., da Silva-Buttkus, P., Terwee, C. B. et al. 2024. Assessment of quality of life and wellbeing in mouse preclinical research – A scoping review. Neuroscience Applied 3, 104058.

Development of a novel primate welfare assessment tool for research macaques

Primates are important species for biomedical research and ensuring their good welfare is critical for research translatability and ethical responsibility. Systematic animal welfare assessments can support continuous programme improvements and build institutional awareness of areas requiring more attention. A multi-facility,...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Paterson, E. A., O'Malley, C. I., Abney, D. M. et al. 2024. Development of a novel primate welfare assessment tool for research macaques. Animal Welfare 33, e3.

A systematic approach to defining and verifying descriptors used in the Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of sows

Qualitative Behaviour Assessment (QBA) is a welfare evaluation tool that uses a holistic approach to capturing an animal's emotional state. Lists of QBA descriptors validated to assess pig welfare exist, but their definitions are often not described in peer-reviewed literature...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Ibach, S., Chou, J.-Y., Battini, M. et al. 2024. A systematic approach to defining and verifying descriptors used in the Qualitative Behavioural Assessment of sows. Animal Welfare 33, e8.

Opportunistically using a Chronic Unpredictable Stress study to investigate ‘inactive-but-awake’ behaviour as a potential welfare indicator in laboratory rats

Being awake but motionless, inactive-but-awake (IBA), has been suggested to reflect low arousal negative affect in several species. This preliminary study investigated IBA in rats exposed to Chronic Unpredictable Stress (CUS), opportunistically (to comply with the 3Rs) during biomedical research...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Young, L., McCallum, R., Perreault, M. et al. 2024. Opportunistically using a Chronic Unpredictable Stress study to investigate ‘inactive-but-awake' behaviour as a potential welfare indicator in laboratory rats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 274, 106249.

Dolphin-WET—Development of a Welfare Evaluation Tool for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under human care

Ensuring high standards of animal welfare is not only an ethical duty for zoos and aquariums, but it is also essential to achieve their conservation, education, and research goals. While for some species, animal welfare assessment frameworks are already in...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Baumgartner, K., Hüttner, T., Clegg, I. L. K. et al. 2024. Dolphin-WET—Development of a Welfare Evaluation Tool for bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) under human care. Animals 14(5), 701.

Development of an animal welfare tool for zoo-housed primates, considering intra- and inter-rater reliability

Over the past few decades, the concept of animal welfare has become increasingly prominent in Western societies. Faced with this collective awareness, various organisations are now making it a point of honour to consider the welfare of their animals. This...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Dazord, A., Primault, M. 2024. Development of an animal welfare tool for zoo-housed primates, considering intra- and inter-rater reliability. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 12(2), 69–78.

Evaluation of indicators of acute emotional states in dogs

A complete assessment of animal welfare requires not just an understanding of negative emotional states, such as fear and anxiety, but also of positive states, such as calmness and happiness. However, few studies have identified accurate and reliable indicators of...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Flint, H. E., Weller, J. E., Parry-Howells, N. et al. 2024. Evaluation of indicators of acute emotional states in dogs. Scientific Reports 14(1), 6406.