Welfare Assessment

Assessment of plumage and integument condition in dual-purpose breeds and conventional layers

The assessment of plumage and integument condition in laying hens provides useful information about the occurrence of feather pecking and cannibalism. Although feather loss and skin injuries can result from mechanical abrasion or clinical diseases, they are valid animal-based indicators...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Bird, Chicken

Citation: Giersberg, M., Spindler, B., Kemper, N. 2017. Assessment of plumage and integument condition in dual-purpose breeds and conventional layers. Animals 7(12), 97.

Objective measures for the assessment of post-operative pain in Bos indicus bull calves following castration

The aim of the study was to assess pain in Bos indicus bull calves following surgical castration. Forty-two animals were randomised to four groups: no castration (NC, n = 6); castration with pre-operative lidocaine (CL, n = 12); castration with...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Reproduction, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cattle

Citation: Musk, G., Jacobsen, S., Hyndman, T. et al. 2017. Objective measures for the assessment of post-operative pain in Bos indicus bull calves following castration. Animals 7(10), 76.

The use of qualitative behaviour assessment for the on-farm welfare assessment of dairy goats

This research investigated whether using qualitative behaviour assessment (QBA) with a fixed list of descriptors may be related to quantitative animal- (ABM) and resource-based (RBM) measures included in the AWIN (Animal Welfare Indicators) welfare assessment prototype protocol for goats, tested...

Year Published: 2018Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Goat

Citation: Battini, M., Barbieri, S., Vieira, A. et al. 2018. The use of qualitative behaviour assessment for the on-farm welfare assessment of dairy goats. Animals 8(7), 123.

Toward a choice-based judgment bias task for horses

Judgment bias tasks for nonhuman animals are promising tools to assess emotional valence as a measure of animal welfare. In view of establishing a valid judgment bias task for horses, the present study aimed to evaluate 2 versions (go/no-go and...

Year Published: 2017Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Equine

Citation: Hintze, S., Roth, E., Bachmann, I. et al. 2017. Toward a choice-based judgment bias task for horses. Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science 20(2), 123-136.

A deep neural network to assess spontaneous pain from mouse facial expressions

Grimace scales quantify characteristic facial expressions associated with spontaneous pain in rodents and other mammals. However, these scales have not been widely adopted largely because of the time and effort required for highly trained humans to manually score the images....

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

Citation: Tuttle, A. H., Molinaro, M. J., Jethwa, J. F. et al. 2018. A deep neural network to assess spontaneous pain from mouse facial expressions. Molecular Pain 14, 1-9.

What the literature tells us about score sheet design

Score sheets are an essential tool of animal welfare. They allow transparent assessments to be made of animal health and behavior during animal experiments and they define interventions when deviations from normal status are detected. As such, score sheets help...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: All/General

Citation: Bugnon, P., Heimann, M., Thallmair, M. 2016. What the literature tells us about score sheet design. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 414-417.

Osteotomy models – the current status on pain scoring and management in small rodents

Fracture healing is a complex regeneration process which produces new bone tissue without scar formation. However, fracture healing disorders occur in approximately 10% of human patients and cause severe pain and reduced quality of life. Recently, the development of more...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Lang, A., Schulz, A., Ellinghaus, A. et al. 2016. Osteotomy models – the current status on pain scoring and management in small rodents. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 433-441.

Morbidity scoring after abdominal surgery

Postoperative monitoring of pain and distress in small rodents is not standardized, and widely accepted score sheets are not available. Here we describe a score sheet used in abdominal surgery of rodents, with particular reference to procedures involving the liver.

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Graf, R., Cinelli, P., Arras, M. 2016. Morbidity scoring after abdominal surgery. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 453-458.

Recommendation for severity assessment following liver resection and liver transplantation in rats: Part I

Score sheets were first introduced 30 years ago to assess pain, distress and suffering in animals. To date, however, there is still no general agreement on their use in research practice, and only a few publications can be found on...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Kanzler, S., Rix, A., Czigany, Z. et al. 2016. Recommendation for severity assessment following liver resection and liver transplantation in rats: Part I. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 459-467.

Severity assessment in rabbits after partial hepatectomy: Part II

Although the recognition of pain, distress and discomfort has already been described in 1985 by Morton and Griffiths there is still very little known about the establishment of score sheets especially, regarding postsurgical pain and severity assessment for laboratory animals...

Year Published: 2016Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Drude, N., Pawlowsky, K., Tanaka,H. et al. 2016. Severity assessment in rabbits after partial hepatectomy: Part II. Laboratory Animals 50(6), 468-475.