Welfare Assessment

Laterality and fish welfare – A review

Humans interact with fishes in many contexts including aquaculture, scientific study and companion animals. In all of these contexts, fish welfare can be compromised through anthropogenic means. Concern for fish welfare has grown considerably in recent years, with many states...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Berlinghieri, F., Panizzon, P., Penry-Williams, I. L. et al. 2021. Laterality and fish welfare - A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105239.

Brain activity reflects (chronic) welfare state: Evidence from individual electroencephalography profiles in an animal model

Assessing the animal welfare state is a challenge given the subjective individual cognitive and emotional processing involved. Electroencephalography (EEG) spectrum analysis has proved an ecologically valid recording situation to assess the link between brain processes and affective or cognitive states...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Stomp, M., d'Ingeo, S., Henry, S. et al. 2021. Brain activity reflects (chronic) welfare state: Evidence from individual electroencephalography profiles in an animal model. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105271.

Behavioural indicators of welfare exhibited by the common European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis)

The common European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis) is frequently found in public aquaria in Europe. These remarkable creatures make fantastic display animals due to their rapid colour/texture/behaviour changes associated with feeding or camouflage. They possess extremely fragile bodies and soft tissues,...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cephalopod, Invertebrate

Citation: Cooke, G. M., Tonkins, B. M. 2015. Behavioural indicators of welfare exhibited by the common European cuttlefish (Sepia officinalis). Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 3(4), 157-162.

Facial thermography is not useful in assessing body temperature in common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) in comparison to rectal temperatures

A group of 39 captive common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) had their body temperature measurements compared by rectal thermometry and facial infrared thermal imaging (Flir i3, Flir Systems Inc). Squirrel monkeys were caught up and manually restrained for examination and...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Nonhuman Primate, Squirrel Monkey

Citation: Pizzi, R., Dowling, A., Brown, D. et al. 2015. Facial thermography is not useful in assessing body temperature in common squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) in comparison to rectal temperatures. Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research 3(3), 94-98.

Agreement and reliability of the Feline Grimace Scale among cat owners, veterinarians, veterinary students and nurses

This study aimed to evaluate the agreement and reliability of the Feline Grimace Scale (FGS) among cat owners, veterinarians, veterinary students and nurses/technicians. Raters (n = 5/group) scored 100 images using the FGS (ear position, orbital tightening, muzzle tension, whiskers position and...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Evangelista, M. C., Steagall, P. V. 2021. Agreement and reliability of the Feline Grimace Scale among cat owners, veterinarians, veterinary students and nurses. Scientific Reports 11(1), 5262.

Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review

Dogs and cats have been extensively studied of late in relation to their paw preferences, with both species showing preferential motor bias at the level of the individual. Over the years, a wide range of measures have been designed to...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat, Dog

Citation: Wells, D. L. 2021. Paw preference as a tool for assessing emotional functioning and welfare in dogs and cats: A review. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105148.

Developing and validating attention bias tools for assessing trait and state affect in animals: A worked example with Macaca mulatta

Attention bias is a new approach to assessing animal affect that has shown promising results in several animal species. It describes a tendency to preferentially attend to emotional compared to neutral cues and is influenced by underlying affect. It is...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Howarth, E. R. I., Kemp, C., Thatcher, H. R. et al. 2021. Developing and validating attention bias tools for assessing trait and state affect in animals: A worked example with Macaca mulatta. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105198.

Development of existing scoring systems to assess behavioural coping in shelter cats

Assessing how cats cope with the housing and husbandry at shelters is an important part of maintaining good animal welfare. There are non-invasive methods to assess how cats cope with their environment. The aim of this study was to investigate...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Hirsch, E. N., Andersson, M., Loberg, J. et al. 2021. Development of existing scoring systems to assess behavioural coping in shelter cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 234, 105208.

Exploring stable-based behaviour and behaviour switching for the detection of bilateral pain in equines

Efficient and sensitive animal pain detection approaches are increasingly studied with the goal of improving animal welfare and monitoring the efficacy of treatment and rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to determine the potential of various behaviours as sensitive...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Egan, S., Kearney, C. M., Brama, P. A. J. et al. 2021. Exploring stable-based behaviour and behaviour switching for the detection of bilateral pain in equines. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 235, 105214.

Addressing stress in dogs in shelters through a novel visual and auditory enrichment device

Dogs experience both acute and chronic stress when living in animal shelters. Current best practices recommend a variety of techniques for reducing stress such as enhanced human interactions including play or training, novel feeding strategies, increased exercise/group play, and, when...

Year Published: 2021Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Epstein, J., Dowling-Guyer, S., McCobb, E. et al. 2021. Addressing stress in dogs in shelters through a novel visual and auditory enrichment device. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 236, 105215.