Welfare Assessment

Spatial considerations for captive snakes

Captive environments for snakes commonly involve small enclosures with dimensions that prevent occupants from adopting straight line body postures. In particular, the commercial, hobby, and pet sectors routinely utilize small vivaria and racking systems, although zoos and other facilities also...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Housing, Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Warwick, C., Arena, P., Steedman, C. 2019. Spatial considerations for captive snakes. Journal of Veterinary Behavior 30, 37-48.

Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals

Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals, the second of two reports revising the 1992 publication Recognition and Alleviation of Pain and Distress in Laboratory Animals from the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR), focuses on pain experienced by...

Year Published: 2009Topics: Humane Endpoint, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: National Research Council. 2009. Recognition and Alleviation of Pain in Laboratory Animals. The National Academies Press: Washington, DC, 198 pp.

Fish Welfare

Fish have the same stress response and powers of nociception as mammals. Their behavioural responses to a variety of situations suggest a considerable ability for higher level neural processing – a level of consciousness equivalent perhaps to that attributed to...

Year Published: 2008Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Relocation & Transport, Stocking Density, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Branson, E. J. (Ed.) 2008. Fish Welfare. Blackwell Publishing Ltd: Oxford, UK, 300 p.

The controversy on fish pain: A veterinarian’s perspective

Fish welfare is still a relatively new field. As such, regulations and protocols to ensure fish welfare are currently limited and vary considerably in different jurisdictions. This is in part because of the ongoing controversy as to whether or not...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Analgesia, Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Chatigny, F. 2019. The controversy on fish pain: A veterinarian's perspective. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 22(4), 400-410.

Play and optimal welfare: Does play indicate the presence of positive affective states?

Play is commonly used to assess affective states in both humans and non-human animals. Play appears to be most common when animals are well-fed and not under any direct threats to fitness. Could play and playfulness therefore indicate pre-existing positive...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Ahloy-Dallaire, J., Espinosa, J., Mason, G. 2018. Play and optimal welfare: Does play indicate the presence of positive affective states? Behavioural Processes 156, 3-15.

Are there facial indicators of positive emotions in birds? A first exploration in Japanese quail

The positive aspect of emotions, like pleasure, remains overlooked in birds. Our aim was to contribute to the exploration of facial indicators of positive emotions. To observe contrasting emotional expressions, we used two lines of Japanese quail divergently selected on...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Fowl

Citation: Bertin, A., Cornilleau, F., Lemarchand, J. et al. 2018. Are there facial indicators of positive emotions in birds? A first exploration in Japanese quail. Behavioural Processes 157, 470-473.

Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure?

Applying objective measures to assess the emotional states of animals is an important area of research and essential for improving animal welfare. In this study, we have built upon previous research to test whether ear postures can be used as...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Lambert, H., Carder, G. 2019. Positive and negative emotions in dairy cows: Can ear postures be used as a measure? Behavioural Processes 158, 172-180.

Stable individual differences in vocalisation and motor activity during acute stress in the domestic cat

The behavioural assessment of individual animals in stressful situations should consider measures which are consistent across repeated testing, and therefore truly representative of an individual's behaviour. Here we report a study conducted on 40 neutered adult cats (Felis silvestris catus)...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Vocalization, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Urrutia, A., Martínez-Byer, S., Szenczi, P. et al. 2019. Stable individual differences in vocalisation and motor activity during acute stress in the domestic cat. Behavioural Processes 165, 58-65.

Optimising health & welfare tracking using the Sanger Mouse Database

Health tracking of animals is required legally under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 (ASPA) to prevent pain, avoidable suffering, distress or lasting harm. This is important with Genetically Modified (GM) animals as they are more likely to have unexpected...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Dench, J., McLaren-Jones, R., Vancollie, V. et al. 2019. Optimising health & welfare tracking using the Sanger Mouse Database. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(1), 62-64.

In-vivo imaging at NIBSC and how we use it to promote the 3Rs

In-vivo imaging is a revolutionary technology offering a powerful tool for constructing studies involving mice. In the Biological Services Department (BSD) at NIBSC, the IVIS® Spectrum In Vivo System model is used to perform our studies. Imaging has a wide...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Gurney, L. 2019. In-vivo imaging at NIBSC and how we use it to promote the 3Rs. Animal Technology and Welfare 18(2), 143-144. (IAT Congress 2018 Poster Presentation)