Welfare Assessment

Pavlovian influences on learning differ between rats and mice in a counterbalanced Go/NoGo judgement bias task

Judgement bias tests of animal affect and hence welfare assume that the animal's responses to ambiguous stimuli, which may herald positive or negative outcomes, are under instrumental control and reflect ‘optimism' or ‘pessimism' about what will happen. However, Pavlovian control...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Jones, S., Paul, E. S., Dayan, P. et al. 2017. Pavlovian influences on learning differ between rats and mice in a counterbalanced Go/NoGo judgement bias task. Behavioural Brain Research 331, 214-224.

Bottlenose dolphins engaging in more social affiliative behaviour judge ambiguous cues more optimistically

Cognitive bias tests measure variation in emotional appraisal and are validated methods to assess animals' affective states. However, the link between social behaviours and cognitive bias has not yet been investigated. Bottlenose dolphins are a gregarious species for whom welfare...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Social Housing & Companionship, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Marine Mammal

Citation: Clegg, I. L., Rödel, H. G., Delfour, F. 2017. Bottlenose dolphins engaging in more social affiliative behaviour judge ambiguous cues more optimistically. Behavioural Brain Research 322, 115-122.

Facial correlates of emotional behaviour in the domestic cat (Felis catus)

Leyhausen's (1979) work on cat behaviour and facial expressions associated with offensive and defensive behaviour is widely embraced as the standard for interpretation of agonistic behaviour in this species. However, it is a largely anecdotal description that can be easily...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Bennett, V., Gourkow, N., Mills, D. S. 2017. Facial correlates of emotional behaviour in the domestic cat (Felis catus). Behavioural Processes 141, 342-350.

Aversive responses by shore crabs to acetic acid but not to capsaicin

Nociception is the ability to encode and perceive harmful stimuli and allows for a rapid reflexive withdrawal. In some species, nociception might be accompanied by a pain experience, which is a negative feeling that allows for longer-term changes in behaviour....

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Crustacean, Invertebrate

Citation: Elwood, R. W., Dalton, N., Riddell, G. 2017. Aversive responses by shore crabs to acetic acid but not to capsaicin. Behavioural Processes 140, 1-5.

Coding and quantification of a facial expression for pain in lambs

Facial expressions are routinely used to assess pain in humans, particularly those who are non-verbal. Recently, there has been an interest in developing coding systems for facial grimacing in non-human animals, such as rodents, rabbits, horses and sheep. The aims...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Sheep

Citation: Guesgen, M. J., Beausoleil, N. J., Leach, M. et al. 2016. Coding and quantification of a facial expression for pain in lambs. Behavioural Processes 132, 49-56.

Trade-offs between predator avoidance and electric shock avoidance in hermit crabs demonstrate a non-reflexive response to noxious stimuli consistent with prediction of pain

Arthropods have long been thought to respond to noxious stimuli by reflex reaction. One way of testing if this is true is to provide the animal with a way to avoid the stimulus but to vary the potential cost of...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Crustacean, Invertebrate

Citation: Magee, B., Elwood, R. W. 2016. Trade-offs between predator avoidance and electric shock avoidance in hermit crabs demonstrate a non-reflexive response to noxious stimuli consistent with prediction of pain. Behavioural Processes 130, 31-35.

Sickness behaviour in the cricket Gryllus texensis: Comparison with animals across phyla

Immune activation alters behaviour (i.e. sickness behaviour) in animals across phyla and is thought to aid recovery from infection. Hypotheses regarding the adaptive function of different sickness behaviours (e.g. decreased movement and appetite) include the energy conservation and predator avoidance...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Insect & Spider, Invertebrate

Citation: Sullivan, K., Fairn, E., Adamo, S. A. 2016. Sickness behaviour in the cricket Gryllus texensis: Comparison with animals across phyla. Behavioural Processes 128, 134-143.

Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent Welfare Group has held a one-day meeting every autumn for the last 21 years, so that its members can discuss current welfare research, exchange views on rodent welfare issues and share experiences of the implementation of the...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., Atkinson, J., Birt, R. et al. 2016. Report of the 2015 RSPCA/UFAW rodent and rabbit welfare group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 15(1), 9-22. [Meeting Report]

Report of a RSPCA/APHA meeting on the welfare of wild animals used in research

This is a report of a one-day meeting jointly convened by the RSPCA and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), which brought together around 70 researchers, veterinarians, animal technologists, regulators and others with an interest in the welfare of...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, External Bodily Equipment, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Reed, B., Beatham, S., Carter, S. et al. 2017. Report of a RSPCA/APHA meeting on the welfare of wild animals used in research. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(1), 13-25. [Meeting Report]

Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting

The RSPCA/UFAW Rodent (and now Rabbit) Welfare Group held a one-day meeting on 1 November 2016 at the University of Edinburgh and was attended by 70 delegates. Presentation topics included refinements in blood sampling rodents, reducing suffering in projects involving...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Biological Sampling & Physiological Measurement, Disease/Experimental Model, Husbandry & Management, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Hawkins, P., McNeilly, A., Watson, J. et al. 2017. Report of the 2016 RSPCA/UFAW Rodent and Rabbit Welfare Group meeting. Animal Technology and Welfare 16(2), 77-86.