Welfare Assessment

Adaptation of the Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) model to monitor laboratory rats and mice

The Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) is a cloud based online tool designed to assess and monitor the welfare and cumulative lifetime experience of animals. It has been successfully used to monitor the wellbeing of animals from an experimental, zoological,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Cunningham, A., Wolfensohn, S., Dennis, M. et al. 2025, December. Adaptation of the Animal Welfare assessment grid (AWAG) model to monitor laboratory rats and mice. Animal Technology and Welfare 4(3), 199–211.

The use of body condition scoring—Old-World nonhuman primates

Body condition scoring (BCS) is defined as a subjective semiquantitative method of assessing body fat and muscle [JAALA, 51(1) 83-93]. Used as a management tool designed to assess the physical state of an animal, its musculature, body reserves and fat...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Brooks, K., Teti, M. 2025. The use of body condition scoring—Old-World nonhuman primates. Animal Technology and Welfare 24(3), 244–247.

From ethogram to flow: Behavioral time budgets and transition networks in female harbor seals under human care

We quantified how exhibit design and routine management shape behavior and space use in captive harbor seals (Phoca vitulina). Using a species-specific ethogram, scan sampling and focal follows on adult females housed in a modern zoo exhibit, we estimated time...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Housing, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Briguori, M., Carlino, P., Carpino, C. et al. 2025. From ethogram to flow: Behavioral time budgets and transition networks in female harbor seals under human care. Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens 6(4).

Potential new biomarkers in pig saliva for differentiating between the effects of different conditions of mixing and density at pre-slaughter: A preliminary proteomicstudy

The intensification of pig (Sus scrofa domesticus) production systems raises concerns regarding animal welfare, particularly during pre-slaughter conditions, a phase associated with significant stress. Saliva is increasingly recognised as a non-invasive matrix for detecting stress-related biomarkers in pigs. This preliminary...

Year Published: 2026Topics: Euthanasia, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Pig

Citation: Botía, M., Muñoz-Prieto, A., Bustillo, A. O. et al. 2026. Potential new biomarkers in pig saliva for differentiating between the effects of different conditions of mixing and density at pre-slaughter: A preliminary proteomicstudy. Animal Welfare 35, e4.

Introducing an innovative pain scale for assessing postpartum pain in mares: Preliminary clinical evaluation

Background: Pain after giving birth is commonly observed in horses, yet there has not been a specific tool developed for assessing this pain in postpartum mares. The goal was to adapt existing equine pain scales and to preliminarily validate a...

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

Citation: Bolesławska-Szubartowska, J., Kucharczuk, M., Skrabska, A. et al. 2025. Introducing an innovative pain scale for assessing postpartum pain in mares: Preliminary clinical evaluation. Animals 15(23).

Evaluating the impact of housing modifications on milk infrared spectra as indicators of dairy cow welfare status

The objective of this study was to explore whether milk mid-infrared (MIR) spectral patterns could reflect physiological responses to improved housing conditions aimed at enhancing dairy cow comfort and ease of movement. Three controlled animal trials were conducted to test...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Housing, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Bahadi, M., Warner, D., Ismail, A. A. et al. 2025. Evaluating the impact of housing modifications on milk infrared spectra as indicators of dairy cow welfare status. Scientific Reports 15(1), 45791.

A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents

Ensuring that laboratory rodent pain is well managed underpins the ethical acceptability of working with these animals in research. Appropriate treatment of pain in laboratory rodents requires accurate assessments of the presence or absence of pain to the extent possible....

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Chinchilla, Gerbil, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Mouse, Other Rodent, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Turner, P. V., Pang, D. S., Lofgren, J. L. 2019. A review of pain assessment methods in laboratory rodents. Comparative Medicine 69(6), 451–467.

A review of strain and sex differences in response to pain and analgesia in mice

Pain and its alleviation are currently a highly studied issue in human health. Research on pain and response to analgesia has evolved to include the effects of genetics, heritability, and sex as important components in both humans and animals. The...

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

Citation: Smith J. C. 2019. A review of strain and sex differences in response to pain and analgesia in mice. Comparative Medicine 69(6), 490–500.

A review of welfare indicators of indoor-housed dairy cow as a basis for integrated automatic welfare assessment systems

For on-farm welfare assessment many automatic methods have been developed to detect indicators of reduced welfare. However, there is still a need to integrate data from single sources to obtain a complete picture of the welfare of an animal. This...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Leliveld, L. M. C., Provolo, G. 2020. A review of welfare indicators of indoor-housed dairy cow as a basis for integrated automatic welfare assessment systems. Animals 10(8), 1430.

Spatial distribution and activity patterns as welfare indicators in response to water quality changes in European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax

In aquaculture, fish are exposed to unavoidable stressors that can be detrimental for their health and welfare. However, welfare in farmed fish can be difficult to assess, and, so far, no standardized test has been universally accepted as a welfare...

Year Published: 2020Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish

Citation: Alfonso, S., Sadoul, B., Cousin, X. et al. 2020. Spatial distribution and activity patterns as welfare indicators in response to water quality changes in European sea bass, Dicentrarchus labrax. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 226, 104974.