Welfare Assessment

Eye blink rates and eyelid twitches as a non-invasive measure of stress in the domestic horse

Physiological changes provide indices of stress responses, however, behavioural measures may be easier to determine. Spontaneous eye blink rate has potential as a non-invasive indicator of stress. Eyelid movements, along with heart rate (HR) and behaviour, from 33 horses were...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Merkies, K., Ready, C., Farkas, L. et al. 2019. Eye blink rates and eyelid twitches as a non-invasive measure of stress in the domestic horse. Animals 9(58), 62.

Use of the rat grimace scale to evaluate visceral pain in a model of chemotherapy-induced mucositis

The rat grimace scale (RGS) is a measure of spontaneous pain that evaluates pain response. The ability to characterize pain through a non-invasive method has considerable utility for numerous animal models of disease, including mucositis, a painful, self-limiting side-effect of...

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

Citation: George, R. P., Howarth, G. S., Whittaker, A. L. 2019. Use of the rat grimace scale to evaluate visceral pain in a model of chemotherapy-induced mucositis. Animals 9(9), 678.

Validation of a commercial automated body condition scoring system on a commercial dairy farm

Body condition scoring (BCS) is the management practice of assessing body reserves of individual animals by visual or tactile estimation of subcutaneous fat and muscle. Both high and low BCS can negatively impact milk production, disease, and reproduction. Visual or...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Mullins, I. L., Truman, C. M., Campler, M. et al. 2019. Validation of a commercial automated body condition scoring system on a commercial dairy farm. Animals 9(6), 287-287.

Could greater time spent displaying waking inactivity in the home environment be a marker for a depression-like state in the domestic dog?

Dogs exposed to aversive events can become inactive and unresponsive and are commonly referred to as being "depressed", but this association remains to be tested. We investigated whether shelter dogs spending greater time inactive "awake but motionless" (ABM) in their...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Harvey, N. D., Moesta, Al., Kappel, S. et al. 2019. Could greater time spent displaying waking inactivity in the home environment be a marker for a depression-like state in the domestic dog? Animals 9(7), 420.

Are tail and ear movements indicators of emotions in tail-docked pigs in response to environmental enrichment?

The inclusion of emotional indicators in farm monitoring methods can improve welfare assessments. Studies in controlled conditions have suggested that increased tail movement is an indicator of positive emotions in pigs, while others have proposed that increased ear movements are...

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

Citation: Marcet-Rius, M., Fàbrega, E., Cozzi, A. et al. 2019. Are tail and ear movements indicators of emotions in tail-docked pigs in response to environmental enrichment? Animals 9(7), 449.

Understanding cows’ emotions on farm: Are eye white and ear posture reliable indicators?

Understanding the emotions of dairy cows is primarily important in enhancing the level of welfare and provide a better life on farm. This study explored whether eye white and ear posture can reliably contribute to interpret valence and arousal of...

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

Citation: Battini, M., Agostini, A., Mattiello, S. 2019. Understanding cows' emotions on farm: Are eye white and ear posture reliable indicators? Animals 9(8), 477.

Positive welfare for fishes: Rationale and areas for future study

Traditional animal welfare paradigms have focused on maintaining physical health and mitigating negative impacts to wellbeing. Recently, however, the field has increasingly recognized the importance of positive welfare (i.e., mental and physical states that exceed what is necessary for immediate...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Emotion, Pain, & Sentience, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Fife-Cook, I., Franks, B. 2019. Positive welfare for fishes: Rationale and areas for future study. Fishes 4(2), 31.

Determining overweight and underweight with a new weight‐for‐height index in captive group‐housed macaques

Housing primates in naturalistic groups provides social benefits relative to solitary housing. However, food intake may vary across individuals, possibly resulting in overweight and underweight individuals. Information on relative adiposity (the amount of fat tissue relative to body weight) is...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Sterck, E. H. M., Zijlmans, D. G. M., de Vries, H., et al. 2019. Determining overweight and underweight with a new weight‐for‐height index in captive group‐housed macaques. American Journal of Primatology 81(6), e22996.

Development of a welfare assessment protocol for dairy calves from birth through to weaning

The aim of this study was to develop a welfare assessment protocol using different indicators, for pre-weaned dairy calves, that is feasible and time efficient. To this end, the protocol had to combine animal-based indicators (measurements on physiology, general appearance...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Barry, J., Kennedy, E., Sayers, R. et al. 2019. Development of a welfare assessment protocol for dairy calves from birth through to weaning. Animal Welfare 28(3), 331-344.

A systematic review of the potential uses of on-animal sensors to monitor the welfare of sheep evaluated using the Five Domains Model as a framework

This systematic review explores the use of on-animal sensors in sheep and their potential application in objective welfare monitoring. The key questions posed were: To what extent can current scientific knowledge inform a sensor-based approach to welfare evaluations? And, how...

Year Published: 2019Topics: External Bodily Equipment, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Fogarty, E. S., Swain, D. L., Cronin, G. M. et al. 2019. A systematic review of the potential uses of on-animal sensors to monitor the welfare of sheep evaluated using the Five Domains Model as a framework. Animal Welfare 28(4), 407-420.