Welfare Assessment

Prevalence and severity of tail lesions as a possible welfare indicator for rabbit does

The impact of behavioural disorders on animal welfare in modern animal husbandry has been much debated. While other abnormal behaviours have been explored at length, there are a paucity of studies on tail-biting in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). In the present...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Social Housing & Companionship, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Bill, J., Rauterberg, S. L., Stracke, J. et al. 2019. Prevalence and severity of tail lesions as a possible welfare indicator for rabbit does. Animal Welfare 28(4), 511-518.

Complexities of using wild versus captive activity budget comparisons for assessing captive primate welfare

Activity budget comparisons between groups or individuals in the wild and those in captivity are commonly used to determine the range of wild-type behaviors that nonhuman animals in captivity perform. These comparisons are conducted with the view that individuals displaying...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Baboon, Capuchin, Chimpanzee, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Nonhuman Primate, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Howell, C. P., Cheyne, S. M. 2019. Complexities of using wild versus captive activity budget comparisons for assessing captive primate welfare. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 22(1), 78-96.

Refinement of analgesia following thoracotomy and experimental myocardial infarction using the Mouse Grimace Scale

What is the central question of this study? There is an ethical imperative to optimize analgesia protocols for laboratory animals, but this is impeded by our inability to recognize pain reliably. We examined whether the Mouse Grimace Scale (MGS) provides...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Faller, K. M., McAndrew, D. J., Schneider, J. E. et al. 2015. Refinement of analgesia following thoracotomy and experimental myocardial infarction using the Mouse Grimace Scale. Experimental Physiology 100(2), 164-172.

Welfare of Cultured and Experimental Fishes

This open access book is a printed edition of the Special Issue on Welfare of Cultured and Experimental Fishes that was published in the journal Fishes. The PDF is free for download.

Year Published: 2019Topics: Environmental Enrichment, Husbandry & Management, Social Housing & Companionship, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Other Fish, Salmon, Tilapia, Trout, Zebrafish

Citation: Arechavala-Lopez, P., Saraiva, J. L. 2019. Welfare of Cultured and Experimental Fishes. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI, 132 pages.

Assessing the welfare of kennelled dogs—A review of animal-based measures

Hundreds of thousands of dogs are housed in kennels worldwide, yet there are no standard protocols for assessing the welfare of dogs in these environments. Animal science is focusing increasingly on the importance of animal-based measures for determining welfare states,...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Polgár, Z., Blackwell, E. J., Rooney, N. J. 2019. Assessing the welfare of kennelled dogs—A review of animal-based measures. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 213, 1-13.

A novel emotional and cognitive approach to welfare phenotyping in rainbow trout exposed to poor water quality

Recent scientific evidence for fish sentience has stressed the need for novel sentience-based detection tools of fish welfare impairment in commercial farms. In order to mimic a well-characterised stress situation, rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to poor water quality...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Human-Animal Interaction, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Trout

Citation: Colson, V., Mure, A., Valotaire, C. et al. 2019. A novel emotional and cognitive approach to welfare phenotyping in rainbow trout exposed to poor water quality. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 103-112.

Be kind to others: Prosocial behaviours and their implications for animal welfare

Social interactions are central to the health and psychological well-being of domestic animals. Until now, research has overwhelmingly focused on negative social behaviours such as aggression or the lack of social interactions such as social separation and isolation. This contradicts...

Year Published: 2019Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Rault, J.-L. 2019. Be kind to others: Prosocial behaviours and their implications for animal welfare. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 210, 113-123.

What can the quantitative and qualitative behavioural assessment of videos of sheep moving through an autonomous data capture system tell us about welfare?

Sheep can be exposed to a variety of challenges and failure to adapt to these challenges can compromise their health and wellbeing. Regular monitoring of stock on large-scale or extensive systems may not always be possible, although recent technological advancements...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Grant, E. P., Brown, A., Wickham, S. L. et al. 2018. What can the quantitative and qualitative behavioural assessment of videos of sheep moving through an autonomous data capture system tell us about welfare? Applied Animal Behaviour Science 208, 31-39.

Evaluation of infrared thermography for temperature measurement in adult male NMRI nude mice

Temperature monitoring during critical care provides important data required to guide treatment delivery. Body temperature is an easily quantified clinical parameter that can yield much information concerning the health of an animal. In research settings, temperature has been adopted as...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Fiebig, K., Jourdan, T., Kock, M. H. et al. 2018. Evaluation of infrared thermography for temperature measurement in adult male NMRI nude mice. JAALAS 57(6), 715–724.

Body condition scoring for adult zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Body condition scoring (BCS) is a simple, rapid, noninvasive tool used to assess body condition in animals. In this study, we developed and validated a diagram-based BCS for adult zebrafish (Danio rerio), a popular research model. After receiving 20 min...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Fish, Zebrafish

Citation: Clark, T. S., Pandolfo, L. M., Marshall, C. M. et al. 2018. Body condition scoring for adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). JAALAS 57(6), 698–702.