Welfare Assessment

The care of the Children’s Python (Antaresia childreni)

This article describes the care of the Children’s python (Antaresia childreni). It includes information on housing, feeding, handling, as well as the general health care of these animals. The information presented is derived from Standard Operating Procedures used at the...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Handling, Housing, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Reptile, Snake

Citation: Hosking, A., Martinic, G. 2020. The care of the Children’s Python (Antaresia childreni). Animal Technology and Welfare 19(2), 118-122.

The identification of effective welfare indicators for laboratory-housed macaques using a Delphi consultation process

Despite the importance for both animal welfare and scientific integrity of effective welfare assessment in non-human primates, there has been little or no consensus as what should be assessed. A Delphi consultation process was undertaken to identify the animal- and...

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

Citation: Truelove, M. A., Martin, J. E., Langford, F. M. et al. 2020. The identification of effective welfare indicators for laboratory-housed macaques using a Delphi consultation process. Scientific Reports 10(1), 20402.

The natural behavior debate: Two conceptions of animal welfare

The performance of natural behavior is commonly used as a criterion in the determination of animal welfare. This is still true, despite many authors having demonstrated that it is not a necessary component of welfare – some natural behaviors may...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Natural Behavior, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Browning, H. 2020. The natural behavior debate: Two conceptions of animal welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 23(3), 325-337.

Seasonal weight changes in laboratory ferrets

Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are a valuable animal model used in biomedical research. Like many animals, ferrets undergo significant variation in body weight seasonally, affected by photoperiod, and these variations complicate the use weight as an indicator of health status....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Ferret

Citation: Jones, E. J., Poole, K. C., Sollini, J. et al. 2020. Seasonal weight changes in laboratory ferrets. PLOS ONE 15(8): e0232733.

Semi-automated generation of pictures for the Mouse Grimace Scale: A multi-laboratory analysis (Part 2)

The Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS) is an established method for estimating pain in mice during animal studies. Recently, an improved and standardized MGS set-up and an algorithm for automated and blinded output of images for MGS evaluation were introduced. The...

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

Citation: Ernst, L., Kopaczka, M., Schulz, M. et al. 2020. Semi-automated generation of pictures for the Mouse Grimace Scale: A multi-laboratory analysis (Part 2). Laboratory Animals 54(1), 92–98.

Severity assessment in pigs after partial liver resection: Evaluation of a score sheet

Severity assessment in biomedical research is required by the European authorities. Therefore, a variety of score sheets are available. The first score sheets were designed and introduced by Morton and Griffith (M&G) in 1985, to assess pain and distress in...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Hagemeister, K., Ernst, L., Kadaba Srinivasan, P. et al. 2020. Severity assessment in pigs after partial liver resection: Evaluation of a score sheet. Laboratory Animals 54(3), 251–260.

Severity assessment using three common behavioral or locomotor tests after laparotomy in rats: A pilot study

The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate whether behavioral or locomotor tests (Open Field (OF), rotarod (RR), and CatWalk (CW)) can help assess the severity of laparotomy in rats. The new EU Directive (2010/63/EU) mandates severity assessment in...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Zieglowski, L., Kümmecke, A., Ernst, L. et al. 2020. Severity assessment using three common behavioral or locomotor tests after laparotomy in rats: A pilot study. Laboratory Animals 54(6), 525-535.

Reliability of the mouse grimace scale in C57BL/6JRj mice

To maintain and foster the welfare of laboratory mice, tools that reliably measure the current state of the animals are applied in clinical assessment. One of these is the Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS), a coding system for facial expression analysis....

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

Citation: Hohlbaum, K., Corte, G. M., Humpenöder, M. et al. 2020. Reliability of the mouse grimace scale in C57BL/6JRj mice. Animals 10(9), 1648.

Remote controlled nociceptive threshold testing systems in large animals

Nociceptive threshold (NT) testing is widely used for the study of pain and its alleviation. The end point is a normal behavioural response, which may be affected by restraint or unfamiliar surroundings, leading to erroneous data. Remotely controlled thermal and...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat, Dog, Sheep

Citation: Taylor, P. 2020. Remote controlled nociceptive threshold testing systems in large animals. Animals 10(9), 1556.

Repeatability and feasibility of pressure algometry for quantifying mechanical nociceptive threshold in the thoracic region of calves

Pressure algometry can be used to quantify mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) in humans and animals. If reliable this may be a useful tool to examine calves for increased mechanical sensitivity, which may be induced by disease or pain. This study...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Williams, H. J., Duncan, J. S., Grove-White, D. H. et al. 2020. Repeatability and feasibility of pressure algometry for quantifying mechanical nociceptive threshold in the thoracic region of calves. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 7, 442.